Full text of "The mound builders: their works and relics"

REESE LIBRARY 

JNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 

FEP 19 1894 
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Prehistoric America. 




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Cliff Dwjcllcrs. 
^lnl)ccological tidies. 



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MOUND BUILDERS 



THEIR 



WORKS AND RELICS. 



BY 

REV. STEPHEN D. FEET, PH. D., 

Member of Am. Antiquarian Society ; Am. Oriental Society ; Fellow of Am. Association 

Ad. of Sciences ; Member of Victoria Institute, also of Societe de Ethnographie ; Cor. 

Member of Numismatic Society of New York, Historical Societies of Virginia, 

Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Davenport Academy of Science. Also 

Editor of American Antiqiiarian and Oriental Journal. 



VOL. I. 



ILLUSTRATED 




CHICAGO: 

OFFICE OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN. 
1892. 



COPYRIGHT BY STEPHEN D. FEET. 



TO THE OFFICERS 

OF THE 

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 

IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE MANY FAVORS AND KIND WORDS 
OF ENCOURAGEMENT RECEIVED, 

THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 

BY THE 

AUTHOR. 








INTRODUCTION. 



rpHE four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of 
JL America will make a work on Prehistoric America 
very opportune. The author has spent twelve or four= 
teen years in preparing such a work, and now takes 
pleasure in presenting it to the public. 

During this time there have been many discoveries; 
consequently many changes of thought. These dis 
coveries and changes have had regard first to the 
Mound-builders problem. 

Some forty years ago it was held that the Mississippi 
valley must have been settled by a civilized people who 
had migrated from some historic country. Silver sword 
scabbards, iron knives, Hebrew inscriptions, triune 
vases, and other curious relics, were dwelt upon as 
proving this. The Mormon delusion grew out of an 
erroneous theory as to the "lost tribes." 

Latterly the opinion has gone to the other extreme. 
The Mound=builders were savages, and differed from 
the modern Indians only in that they used stone and pot= 
tery instead of iron and tin for their weapons and 
utensils. This opinion, however, is as far out of the 
way as the previous one. This people inhabited the 
Mississippi valley during the same time that the Cliff = 
dwellers and Pueblos did the great plateaux, and the 
civilized races did the central provinces, and constituted 
a cultus which differed essentially from any other now- 
known to history. This is the position which the author 
has sought to establish in the first volume of the series. 
By taking this as the true position, we work both ways, 
carry the Mound=building period back into antiquity 
and bring it down near to historic time. We may 



INTRODUCTION. 

ascribe a longer period of occupation to the people and 
at the same time make the prehistoric condition more 
important and marked. The cultus of the earlier races 
is magnified, but the differences between them and the 
invading hunter tribes is increased. 

Animal Totemism has been a subject of much inquiry 
during the past few years. It is a system which has 
prevailed among the uncivilized races everywhere. It 
also existed extensively among the aboriginal races. 
America is the field in which it is seen in all its variety 
and power The book on Emblematic Mounds illustrates 
this. The totems of a tribe of hunters were wrought 
into earth shapes and constitute striking features of the 
landscape. They perpetuate the divinities of the people 
and embody their superstitions. Animal worship is 
the key to the interpretation of these effigies. 

The myths and symbols of the prehistoric races are 
proving very interesting and rich. Some of these show 
striking resemblances to the myths which are so well 
known as belonging to the historic countries, and give 
increasing evidence of pre-Columbian contact with 
other continents. It is but a very few years since the 
autochthonous theory was adopted, but discoveries 
have already thrown doubt on this theory, and now 
the burden of proof rests upon the authors of it, though 
the law of parallel development is acknowledged by 
all. There are very strange resemblances between the 
symbols in this country and those found in the far 
East. The work on symbolism will bring out these 
points, and will be valuable on this account. 

The Cliff-dwellers are a mysterious people. By some 
they are classed with the Cave-d wellers of Europe, but 
they were much more advanced. They have developed 
a style of architecture peculiar to themselves. They 
were probably the survivors of the Pueblos, but were 
preceded by a race entirely different. The relics, 



INTRODUCTION. xi 

structures and other tokens show that there were three 
classes of people who inhabited the great plateau and 
made their abode amid the mountains and deep canons 
of the far West the wild Indians, the Cliff =dwellers 
and an unknown race. 

A comparison between the architecture of different 
parts of the continent is drawn in the fourth volume 
of the series. The Indians of the North, the Mound- 
builders of the Mississippi valley, and of the civilized 
races are described in connection with the structures of 
the Cliff -dwellers and the Pueblos, as they all represent 
different styles of architecture. That there was an 
American style of architecture is the position taken by 
the author of this work, though it is uncertain whether 
its development was entirely separate from contact 
with other nations. The date of civilization in Mexico 
has been traced back to the thirteenth century, and in 
Central America to the sixth century. Some would 
place the beginning of the Maya civilization before the 
Christian era. The contrast between the architecture 
of the earlier Mayas and the later or Aztec races will 
be also brought out by this volume. 

As to the age of man in America, the author at pres= 
ent takes no definite position. The progress of discovery 
has seemed to favor a very considerable antiquity, but 
as doubt has been thrown upon all such tokens as the 
Calaveras skull and the Nampa image, and the relics 
from, the gravel beds have been pronounced by various 
authorities as lacking many of the qualities of paleo= 
lithic reJics, the subject has been left undecided, with 
the expectation that future discoveries will furnish 
more if not better evidence. 

It will be appropriate to say that portions of the vol 
umes mentioned above have already been published in 
The American Antiquarian, and the points referred to 
have been subjected to discussion among the archaeolo- 



x j, INTRODUCTION. 

gists. Other portions will appear in that journal, and 
will be published in book form as rapidly as circum 
stances will permit. 

The author takes pleasure in acknowledging assist 
ance from different sources in the preparation of the first 
volume. These sources are as follows : The work on 
Ancient Monuments, by Squier and Davis ; Antiquities 
of Tennessee, by Gen. G. P. Thurston , Antiquities of 
Southern Indians, by Col. C. C. Jones, Jr.; the Aborigi 
nal Races of Tennessee, by Dr. Joseph Jones ; North 
Americans of Antiquity, by Rev. J. T. Short ; Fort 
Ancient, by Warren K. Moorehead; Mound Builders, by 
Rev. J. P. MacLean; Vanished Races, by A. C. Conant; 
History of the Cherokees, by Dr. Cyrus Thomas ; Various 
numbers of Smithsonian Reports; Annual Reports of 
Ethnological Bureau; The Davenport Academy of 
Science ; Peabody Museum ; The American Association ; 
Geological Survey of Indiana; The Natural History 
Society of Cincinnati; TheCanadian Institute of Toronto; 
The American Naturalist and the American Antiquarian . 
Many of the cuts in this volume have been taken from 
the plates found in Ancient Monuments, which have 
been reduced by "process"; others from the volume 
by C. C. Jones, Jr. Blocks have also been loaned by 
The Natural History Society of Cincinnati, The Daven 
port Academy of Science, Mr. Boyle of the Canadian 
Institute, Hon. Bela B. Hubbard and 6. H. Binkley 
Electrotypes have been furnished by the Smithsonian 
Institute, the Ethnological Bureau, Mr. A. E. Douglas, 
Mr. Robert Clarke, Gen. Gates P. Thurston. For all of 
these favors the author wishes to express his sincere 
thanks. 




OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 
THE MYSTERIOUS RACES. 

Paleolithic Man Nampa Image The Cave-dwellers in Europe and in 
America The People who Left the Shell Heaps Man and the 
Mastodon Salt Mines and Cypress Rafts. 



CHAPTER II. 
THE MOUND-BUILDERS AND THEIR WORKS. 

The Mound-builders Habitat in the Mississippi Valley Districts Divided 
according[to Geographical Lines Different Classes Effigies in Wis- 
sin Lookout Mounds and Tumuli in the Prairie Region Military 
Works on the Great Lakes Sacred Enclosures in Ohio -Bee Hive 
Cists East of the Appalachian Mountains Stone Graves on the 
Cumberland Lodge Circles among the Cypress Swamps Pyramids 
in the Gulf States. 

CHAPTER III. 
THE MOUND-BUILDERS AND THE MASTODON. 

The Naming of the Periods The Neolithic Age Date of the Mound- 
builders Contemporaneous with the Mastodon Elephant Pipes and 
the Davenport Tablet. 

CHAPTER IV. 
THE MOUND-BUILDERS AND THE BUFFALO. 

The Appearance of the Buffalo The Succession of Races Hopewell 
Mound Antiquity of the Earth-works Contents of the Mounds 
Few Buffalo Pipes Burials at Different Depths. 



CHAPTER V. 
BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS. 

Districts occupied by Different Classes in the Northern District Bluff 
Mounds on the Upper Mississippi Effigies and Burial Mounds in 
Wisconsin Burial Mounds of Michigan The Chambered Mounds 
of Missouri The Stone Cists of Tennessee. 



xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CIIAITKR VI. 
THE SACRED ENCLOSURES OF OHIO. 

The Symbols embodied in Them The Circle and the Crescent The Plat 
formThe Circle and Square Ellipse The Rhomboid Figure 
Enclosures used as Villages Provisions for Residence, for Amuse 
ment, for Water, for Cultivation The Defenses of the Villages 
Parallel Walls and Covered Ways Fortified Hills Feast Grounds 
Sacrificial Places, as well as Villages Protected by Walls. 

CHAPTER VII. 
THE STONE GRAVE PEOPLE. 

Their Habitation on the Cumberland described by Gen. G. P. Thruston A 
Description of the Region Were they a Historic or a Prehistoric 
People ? Description of the Pottery Portraits Their Burial Cus 
tomsWho Built the Stone Graves ? 

CHAPTER VIII. 
THE MIGRATION OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

Three great Arteries, The Missouri, The Mississippi and The Ohio Rivers 
Native Migration through the Ohio Valley The Ohio River and 
its Branches, the Kenawha, the Scioto, the Wabash and the Cum 
berlandDifferent Tribes of Indians and their Traditions The Com 
parison between the Works The Serpent Effigies Village Enclos 
ures and Burial Mounds The Different Modes of Burial in the 
Valley Compared with those Practiced Elsewhere. 

CHAPTER IX. 
VILLAGE LIFE AND THE MOUND-BUILDERS CULTUS. 

The Peculiarities distinguishing the Mound-builders Villages A study 
of the Earth-works Stockade Villages Walled Villages The loss 
of the Cultus Confederacies among the Mound-builders Variety 
in the Village Architecture The Villages of New York, Ohio, Ar- 
kansas, Tennessee and the Gulf States The Peculiar Features of the 
Ohio Villages Heavy Walls Covered Ways Observatories 
Watch Towers Graded Ways Fortified Hills Lookout Mounds. 

CHAPTER x. 

PYRAMIDAL MnrNDS IN THE GULF STATES. 

The Cahokia Mound and other Pyramids Brackenridge s Description 
Object of the Pyramids Falling < ianlens and the Big Mound at St. 
Louis- Table of Measurement The Comparison of the Pyramids in 
Wisconsin, Illinois and the Gulf States The Location of the Pyra 
mids on the Lower Mississippi -Walnut Bayou Prairie Jefferson 
Sclt/er Township, Bolivar Co. -Pyramids of the Eastern District The 
Etowah. Ma-vR-., Kohlec Mokec, and other Pyramids Description 
of various Pyramids. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. xv 

CHAPTER XL 
DEFENSIVE WORKS OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

Different Methods of Defense in Different Districts Lookout Mounds in 
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana and West 
Virginia Grave Creek and Vmcennes, Indiana Stockade Forts of 
Northern Ohio and New York Stockade Forts of Southern Ohio, 
comparatively modern "Ancient Hill Forts " in Southern Ohio 
"Fortified Hills" in Highland County Fort Ancient Two Forts 
North andSouth Gateways Walls Lookouts Terraces Forts on 
the Miami, Coleraine, Hamilton, Carlisle and Farmersburg "Stone 
Forts" at Bourneville, Ohio, Clark County, Indiana, Manchester, 
Tennessee "Walled Towns" on the Big Harpeth Mandan Fort on 
the Missouri "Walled Towns" on the St. Francis River and in the 
Cypress Swamps of Arkansas. 

CHAPTER XII. 
THE RELIGIOUS WORKS OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

Religious Sentiment Strong Different kinds of Religion manifest among 
the Mound-builders The Geography of Religion Animism Among 
the Nomads Chambered Mounds on the Upper Mississippi Ani- 
imal Worship The Effigy Mounds and Totemism The Myth-bear 
ers among the Effigies Fire Worship in Iowa and Illinois Crema 
tion Mounds near Davenport Moon Cult in Southern Ohio Crescent 
shaped Wall around the Dance Grounds The Moon Cult and the 
Altar Mounds. 

CHAPTER XIII. 
THE WATER CULT AND THE SOLAR CULT. 

Religious Systems of the Mound-builders continued Three Systems em 
bodied in the Ohio District; Serpent Worship, Sun Worship and the 
Water Cult, similar to that in Great Britain The Works at Avebury 
and the Works at Portsmouth, Ohio, compared Horseshoes, Con 
centric Circles and Parallel Walls connected with the Water 
Courses Sun Worship, Sun Circles and Graded Ways on the White 
River and Kenawha River Altar Mounds devoted to Sun Worship 
Orientated Pyramids The Vincennes Mound Correspondence of 
the Sun Symbols on the Shell Gorgets and in the Earth works 
Spool Ornaments and Incense Pipes signs of Sun Worship -Crescent 
Pavement at Circleville. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

MOUND-BUILDERS AND INDIAN RELICS. 

The terms Indian and Mound-builders The Protohistoric and the Prehis 
toric Periods Deterioration of Native Art Geographical distribu, 
tion of Relics Relics from Canada, Indian and from Ohio Mound- 
builder Comparison of the Relics of the Indians and the Mound- 
builders Certain Portrait Pipes, Modern, others Ancient Indian 
Maces and Mound-bnilder Maces compared Monitor Pipes of the 
Indians and Mound-builders compared. 



xvi TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XV. 
SYMBOLISM AMONG THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

11 j> Stones in Europe and America Spool Ornaments The Serpent 
Symbol in Illinois and in Ohio The Phallic Symbol and the Suas- 
tika Conventional Figures Inscribed Tablets. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
KKLICS FROM ALTAR MOUNDS AND ASH PITS. 

Description of the Altar Mounds Symbolism in the Altars and not in the 
Ash Pits Fire used in the Altars and not in the Ash Pits Character 
of the Relics in the Altars; Copper, Lead, Gold, Silver, Iron Carved 
Pipes and Figures upon the Altars Character of the Relics in the 
Ash Pits Rude Pipes from Lime Stone and Sand Stone Pottery 
Vessels numerous in the Ash Fits, not in the Altars Modern looking 
Relics, Copper Bells, Pottery Vases, Eagle Pipes. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

RELICS SHOWING THE CIVILIZATION OF THE MOUND- 
BUILDERS. 

Civilization not in the Stone Age Mound-builders not Civilized, as 
shown by their Arts, but the social condition varies with the locality 
The Art of Weaving and Making Pottery The Material used Or 
namental Patterns, the Greek Fret and other Symbols Three dis 
tinct grades exhibited in America; Savagery, Barbarism and Civili 
zation The Mound-builders in the upper grade of Savagery or 
lower grade of Barbarism The difference between the Northern and 
Southern Mound-builders exhibited in their Works and Relics. 



LUSTRATIONS. 




CHAPTER I. 

PAGE. 

Figure i Paleolithic Relics of St. Acheul Type 2 

2 Paleolithic Relics from the Delaware River 3 

3 Place of First Find 4 

4 Place of Second Find 4 

5 Pestle and Mortar 5 

6 and 7 Nampa Image . 6 

8 Relic from Cave 7 

g and 10 Paleolithic Relics from Cave in F ranee 8 

1 1 Caves of the Cliff-dwellers -9 

12 Paleolithic Ax from Trenton Gravel 12 

13 Elephant Pipe from Iowa 13 

CHAPTER II. 

Figure 14 Animal Effigies 22 

15 Burial Mounds in Illinois 23 

1 6 Fort at Conneaut, Ohio 24 

17 Fort at Weymouth, Ohio 25 

18 Village Enclosure in Ohio 26 

19 Village of Stone Grave People 28 

20 Chunky Yard 29 

CHAPTER III. 

Figure I Elephant Effigy in Wisconsin 32 

2 and 3 Obsidian Arrows from Idaho 33 

4, 5, 6 and 7 Shell Beads from Mounds 33 

8 Bone Needles 33 

9 Pottery Vase from Michigan 34 

10 Hoes from Tennesse 35 

1 1 Sickles from Tennessee 36 

12 Banner Stones from Florida 37 

13 Gold (not Silver) Ornament from Florida 38 

14 Gold (not Silver) Ornament from Florida 38 

15 Nondescript Animal from Davenport Mound 39 

16 Copper Ax Covered with Cloth 40 

17 Elephant Pipe found in Cornfield in Iowa 41 

18 Section of Mound on Cook Farm -in Iowa 42 

19 Plan of Mound on Cook Farm 43 

20 Hieroglyphics on Davenport Tablet 44 

21 Hieroglyphics on Stone Tablet 45 

22 Map of Mounds on Cook Farm in Iowa 47 

23 Altar Containing Sand Stone Tablet 47 

24 Davenport Tablet 48 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

CHAPTKK [V. PAGE. 

Figure i Buffalo and Bear near Prairie du Chien 49 

2 Earthworks at Hopeton, Ohio 51 

M ratified Mounds near Davenport 53 

4 Circle and Square (partially obliterated) near Chillicothe,Ohio. 54 
5 Circle and Square on Paint Creek, Ohio 55 

CHAPTER V. 

Figure i -Burial Mounds near Gideon s Bay, Minn 66 

2 Mound near Moline, Illinois 68 

3 Mound and Shell Heap, To-head Island .68 

4 Group of Mounds on High Ridge 69 

5 Burial Mounds near Moline, Illinois 69 

6 Burial Mounds near Wyalusing, Wisconsin 70 

7 Effigies near Beloit, Wisconsin 71 

8 Effigies and Mounds near Koshkonong, Wisconsin 71 

9 Mounds at Waukesha, Wisconsin 72 

io Mounds at Indian Ford, Wisconsin 72 

ii Mounds on Rock River 72 

12 Mounds, Newton, Wisconsin 72 

13 Burial Mounds near Aztlan 73 

15 Chambered Mounds in Missouri 75 

16 Stone Vaults in Missouri 76 

CHAPTER VI. 

Figure i Platform Mounds near Marietta, Ohio 83 

2 Platform and Circle at High Bank, Ohio 84 

3 Circular Mounds, Portsmouth, Ohio 85 

4 Circle at Circleville, Ohio 86 

5 Octagons and Circle at Newark, Ohio 87 

6 Works at Portsmouth, Ohio 94 

CHAPTER VII. 

Figure i- Wolf s I lead from Stone Grave 101 

2 Pottery Portrait from Stone Grave 102 

3 Portrait Pipe (Indian) from Tennessee 103 

4 Pottery Portrait from Arkansas 104 

5 Head of Stone Image, Tennessee 105 

6 Female Portrait, Stone Grave 106 

7 Male Portrait, Stone Grave 106 

8 Heads used as Handles 107 

9 Pottery Heads used as Handles 108 

10 Pottery Heads with Headdress 109 

1 1 Panther Pipe from Carthage, Missouri no 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Figure i Grave Creek Mound JI 4 

2 Map of Works on Paint Creek, Ohio 115 

3 Fort at Hardinslmrg, Ohio 1 1 & 

4 Great M<-und at Yincennes, Indiana 117 



ILLUSTRATIONS. xix 

PAGE. 

Figure 5 Fort of Stone Grave People 1 18 

6 Burial Mounds on Scioto River 1 19 

7 Serpent Mound in Ohio 122 

8 Serpent Mound in Illinois 123 

Q Altar Mound in a Circle, on Kenawha River 124 

10 Village Enclosure on Scioto River 126 

1 1 Stratified Mound in Wisconsin 130 

CHAPTER IX. 

Figure I Village with Water Supply 134 

2 Village with Sacrificial Mound 135 

3 Stockade Village near Granville, Ohio 136 

4 Stockade Village on the Miami 137 

5 Stockade Village Four Mile Creek, Ohio 138 

6 Sacred Enclosures in Kentucky 139 

o Mound-builders Village and Covered Way 141 

oo Mound-builders Fort 147 

oo Stone Fort in Tennessee 141 

oo Stockade Fort in Ohio 141 

7 Observatory Mound at Newark 153 

8 Graded Way at Piketon, Ohio 154 

CHAPTER X. 

Figure i Cahokia Mound, Illinois 158 

2 Big Mound at St. Louis 164 

3 Pyramid Mounds, Falling Gardens, St. Louis 166 

4 Pyramid and Effigies at Aztlan, Wisconsin 171 

5 Pyramid and Embankments at Walnut Bayou, Louisiana. . . 173 
6 Pyramid, Ponds and Moats at Prairie Jefferson, Louisiana. .174 

7 Pyramids and Circles in Bolivar County, Mississippi 176 

8 Pyramids at Seltzertown, Mississippi 177 

9 Etowah Pyramids and Mounds 179 

10 Pyramids on Shoulder Bone Creek 180 

1 1 Pyramids on Ocmulgee Creek 181 

12 Messier Pyramid and Pond 182 

13 Pyramids and Earthworks at Kolee Mokee, Georgia 183 

CHAPTER XL 

Figure i Hill Mounds near Chillicothe, Ohio 188 

2 Map of Fort on Miami River 189 

3 Stockade Fort at Newburgh, Ohio 193 

4 Fort at Coleraine, Ohio 198 

5 Fort near Hamilton, Ohio 199 

6 Fort Ancient 203 

7 Farmersville Fort, on Big Twin River 207 

8 Carlisle Fort, Ohio 209 

9 Stone Fort on Massies Creek 211 

10 Mandan Fort, on the Missouri River. 215 

1 1 Walled Town on Big Harpeth, Tennessee 216 



NX ILLrSTRATIONS. 

CHAPTER XII. PAGE . 

Figure i Chambered Mounds on Iowa River 223 

2 ( hambered Mounds near East Dubuque 224 

^ Chambered Mounds in Crawford County, Wisconsin 225 

4 Circles of Skeletons at East Dubuque 226 

5 Chambered Mounds in Missouri 226 

6 Animal Totems in Wisconsin 227 

7 -Turtle Totems in Wisconsin 228 

g Myth Bearer of the Dakotas 229 

g Myth Bearer from a Cave in Wisconsin 22g 

i o Alligator Mound and Altar in Ohio 230 

. n _Copper Axes and Pottery Vessels from Toolsboro, Iowa 234 

1 2 Skeletons in Mounds near Davenport 235 

1 3 Crescents and Circles 236 

14 Crescents and Circles in Junction Group, Ohio 238 

1 5 Crescents and Circles in Black Water Group 239 

^-Symbolic Works in Seal Township, Ohio 240 

17 Altar of Leaf-shaped Implements in Ohio 242 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Figure I Horseshoe Enclosures at Portsmouth, Ohio 249 

2 Effigy of Elephant in a Circle 250 

^ Concentric Sun Circles and Terraced Mound 251 

4 Terraced Mound opposite Portsmouth, Ohio 252 

5 Enclosure and Covered Way, Portsmouth, Ohio 253 

6 Circle and Square on Paint Creek 256 

7 Constructed Ellipse near Anderson, Indiana 257 

8 Sun Circle on White River, Indiana 258 

9 Circle and Ellipse in Anderson, Indiana 258 

10 Sun Circle and Graded Way in West Virginia 259 

1 1 Plan of Altar Mound 260 

12 Altar in shape of Circle 260 

13 Altar Mound 261 

1 4 Altar in Relief 262 

1 5 Crescent Pavement 262 

16 Works at Alexandersville, Ohio 264 

17 Works at Worthington, Ohio 265 

18 Spool Ornament and Cross from Stone Grave 266 

19 Pipe from Etowah Mound 267 

20 Circle and Crescent Pavement, Circleville, Ohio 269 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Figures I and 2 Indian Arrow Heads 274 

3 and \ Indian Arrow Heads 274 

5 European Portrait Pipe 275 

6 French Portrait Pipe 276 

7 Chinese Portrait Pipe 276 

8 Grotesque Portrait Pipe 277 

9 Grotesque Portrait Pipe 277 

10 Mound-builders Portrait 278 



ILLUSTRATIONS. . xxi 

PAGE 

Figure 1 1 Bird-shaped Pipe 278 

12 Cherry Bird Pipe 279 

13 Modern Pottery Bird Pipe r 279 

1 5 Portrait Pipe 280 

16 Pipe, Glass Stopper Shape 280 

17 Pipe, Glass Stopper Shape . 280 

18 and 19 Trumpet-shaped Pipe 28 1 

20 Trumpet-shaped Pipe 282 

21 Tube Pipe 282 

22 Tube Pipe 283 

23 Flat Pipe 283 

24 Flat Ceremonial Pipe 284 

25 Flat Ceremonial Pipe 284 

26 Brooding Ornament 285 

27 Brooding Ornament 285 

28 Saddle-shaped Stone 286 

29 Indian Mace 286 

30 Indian Mace from Canada 287 

31 Mound-builders Mace from Florida 287 

32 Rude Monitor Pipe from Canada 288 

33 Rude Monitor Pipe from Canada 289 

34 Rude Monitor Pipe (Indian) ! 290 

35 Portrait and Monitor Pipe (Mound-builders) 291 

CHAPTER XV. 

Figure I Fire and Serpent Symbols from Arizona 301 

2 Fire Generators or Suastika from Tennessee 30 1 

3 Cahokia Tablet 303 

4 Cahokia Tablet and Phallic Symbol 303 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Figure i Altar Mounds at Clark s Works 311 

2 Copper Rings from Altar Mound 312 

3 Altar with Intruded Indian Burial 313 

4 Double Altar in Mound City 314 

5 Paved Altar in Mound City 315 

6 Altar made of Flint Disks 316 

7 Double Altar, with Pavement 317 

8 Heron Pipe 320 

9 Spotted Toad Pipe 321 

10 Tufted Serpent Tablet 322 

1 1 Ash-pits and Contents 325 

12 Pottery Vessels, Salamander Ornament 326 

13 Pottery Vessels with Ears 327 

14 Limestone Pipe *. 328 

1 5 Sandstone Pipe 328 

16 Catlinite Pipe 329 

1 7 Catlinite Pipe 329 

20 and 21 Limestone Pipe 330 

22 Inscribed Stone Pipe from Tennessee . 33 1 



xxii m ILLUSTRATIONS, 

PAGE. 

Figure 23 and 27 Limestone Pipr- 332 

:i - Copper Bell.. ..333 

25 Pottery Vase 334 

26 Eagle Pipe 335 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Figure oo Stone Fort in Tennessee 342 

i Fortified Village with Bastion Walls 343 

2 Mississippi Pottery 346 

3 and 4 Banner Stones with Greek Fret 347 

5 Pottery from Moqui Pueblos 348 

6 Pottery from Stone Graves 349 

7 Frog Pipe from Indiana 353 

8 Stone Pulleys from Stone Graves 354 

Q Flint Hoes from Tennessee 354 

10 Barrel-shaped Disk from Tennessee 355 

1 1 Cloth from Mound in Ohio 355 

12 Otter and Monitor Pipes from Ohio and Iowa 356 

1 3 Bird Pipe from Stone Graves 357 

14 Stone Whistle from Tennessee 357 

1 5 Clay Pipe from Indiana .- 358 

16 Chunkey Stones from Ohio 359 



MAPS. 

Map of Mound-builders Territory 1 4 to 15 

Burial Mounds near Muscatine, Iowa 17 

Works of Scioto Valley 18 

Burial Mounds in Minnesota 58 to 59 

Mounds of Kanawha Valley West Virginia 112 

Mounds on Wateree River, South Carolina 113 

Villages on Paint Creek, Ohio 115 

Villages in Cypress Swamps, Arkansas 132 to 133 

Forts on the Miami River 189 







THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE MYSTERIOUS RACES. 

America is called the New World, and so it is, for it is newly 
discovered. Our claim, however, is that America is also an old 
world, and compares well with other countries in this respect. 
We invite our readers into the field of American antiquities and 
would call attention to the prehistoric tokens and remains which 
are so numerous. We are well assured that there are many 
things which will interest them, and that much may be learned 
from the study of American archaeology. 

History is but recent, but we open the door from the historic 
to the prehistoric, and at once perceive the ancient. The vista 
of a long past opens before us. It stretches beyond our vision, 
and we are surprised at its magnitude and variety. There is, 
indeed, an air of obscurity covering a portion of it and deep 
mystery enshrouding it; but this is the case in all lands. 

To illustrate: Egypt has a history which extends far back into 
the remote past, but what occurred before history is unknown. 
The same may be said of Chaldea, Babylonia, Assyria and India. 
The historv of these countries is carried back constantly by new 
discoveries; nevertheless, deeper obscurity has come upon pre 
historic times. It was the ambition of these eastern races to be 
considered very ancient, but the fabulous dates have been dis 
proved, and yet the mysterity still remains. China is supposed 
to have had a history which reached back hundreds of thousands 
of years. Such extreme antiquity is denied to China, but her 
earliest history is acknowledged to be uncertain and obscure. 
Greece has had a more modern beginning, but even in Greece 
history was preceded by mythology, and that mythology is dim 
and shadowy. The early history of Rome is perhaps better 
known, but a mysterious people is supposed to have occupied 
Italy before the Latins migrated from the east. In Scandinavia 
we find the story of the Sea kings. These figure conspicuously 
as the earliest heroes, but other people dwelt there long before 



the Sea kings. In Great Britain there were also mysterious 
races. We go back of the Norman conquest to find the Celts 
and Saxons, and go back of the Celts and Saxons to find the 
Britons and the Basques, who were comparatively modern. 
IVe read the story of King Arthur and his Round Table and the 
tales of the Druids as marking the earliest period of history, but 
we find the prehistoric people of Great Britain preceding all. 
The same may be said of the continent of Europe. We 
go back to the days of Minnesingers and to the earliest tradi 
tionary periods, but long before 
these there were races in Europe. 
In America also there were mys 
terious races. Here the one 
great event of history was the 
landing of Columbus. It is, 
however, a very modern event. 
The prehistoric period in Amer 
ica was much more ancient and 
prolonged than the historic, and 
yet there is great obscurity over 
the entire period. 

We have set before us the sub 
ject of this chapter, " The Mys 
terious Races," especially those 
found in America. We are to 
take the monuments and the rel 
ics as an evidence that such races 
have existed, but we are to study 
these as our special source of in 
formation. We call them the 
prehistoric races, and yet may 
treat them as though they were 
historic. 

I. We are to begin with the 
paleolithic age. It is now ac 
knowledged that there was a pale 
olithic age in America as well as 
in Europe. It is perhaps due to the investigations of Dr. C. C. 
Abbott that the first discovery of the paleolithic age in America 
was made. This consisted in the finding of many rude relics in 
the gravel beds near Trenton, New Jersey relics which strongly 
resemble the paleolithics of Europe. It was followed, however, 
by the discovery of quartz implements in the vicinity of River 
Falls, Minnesota, by Miss Francis E. Babbit. Figs. 3 and 4.* 




Fig. 1-Paleolithic Relic, St. Acheul Type. 



*The cuts show the location of the gravel beds at Trenton and River Falls. They 
also illuscrase the relation of these beds to the ancient rivers and to the loop in the 
moraines. Other relics have been discovered at Medora, Indiana, and at Loveland, 
Ohio, and at Newcomerstown, Ohio. These were also at the edge of the same great 
ice sheet. 



The terminal moraine of the "great glacial sea" stretches across 
the continent, leaving the marks of the progress and decline of 
the ice age throughout the northern borders. Scattered along 
this terminal moraine at various points these relics have been dis 
covered which show that man existed even in the "ice age". 
They are not found at very great depths nor are they associated 
with remains which indicate very great age; but so far as they 

o, they help us to understand the mystery of man s beginning. 

he condition of man was primitive, scarcely more than a savage 
who gained his subsistence by 
fishing and who dwelt upon 
the edge of the ice sheet and 
fabricated rude relics. If more 
of the extinct animals had been 
found associated with his re 
mains or fragments of the food 
upon which he had subsisted 
had been discovered, we 
should know something of his 
condition. All that we can 
say about this mysterious race 
is that they used rude stone 
weapons and that they be 
longed to the paleolithic age. 

The date of man s first ap 
pearance is now unknown. 
Some carry back the paleo 
lithic age through the entire 
preglacial period, making the 
two contemporaneous; while 
others introduce it at the close 
of the glacial period, making 
the age of man in America 
about ten thousand years. The 
prevalence of man at the close 
of the period is certainly to 
be acknowledged. The pale 
olithic relics are wide-spread, . 

, , ., i 1-4.U- Fig. 2. -Paleolithic Relic from the Delaware. 

and show that paleolithic man 

was present in many places. We call attention to the cuts (Figs. 
I and 2) here, which illustrate the paleolithic relics which are 
found in Europe and America. The specimen represented as 
European was described by Dr. Thomas Wilson in THE AMERI 
CAN ANTIQUARIAN and is called by him the Chellean or St. Acheul 
type.* The American specimen was described in the same journal 
by Dr. C. C. Abbott and is said to be a good representative of 




*See American Antiquarian, Vol. X, p. 6; Vol. VII, p. 308: Vol. VIII, p. 44. 
Popular Science Monthly for July, 1891. 



Also 




the argillite of the Delaware. Dr. Abbot speaks of others in 
the shape of rude axes, some of which exhibit an imperfect 
groove, as if intended for a handle, near the middle. See Fig. 12. 

It will be noticed that there is a strik 
ing resemblance between the relics 
found in America and those found in 
Europe. The shape is that of a pear. 
The European specimens generally 
contain a gloss upon them, which is 
called the patina, and frequently have 
dendrites upon the surface, which are 
sure signs of age. The American 
specimens very rarely have the patina 
or the dendrites. Prof. Wright, how 
ever, says that the relic discovered by 
Mr. W. C. Mills, in 1889, at New- 
comerstown, fifteen feet below the sur 
face, has the patina characteristic of 
the genuine flint implements of great 
age in the valley of the Somme." 
2. This leads us to the considera- 

Fig. S.-Place of the First -Find.- ^ Qf the auriferous gravds and laya 

beds. The discovery of a fragment of a human skull associated 
with the bones of the mastodon in the auriferous gravels of Table 
Mountain, at the depth of 180 feet, in 1857, was an event which 
excited interest among all the learned societies in America and 

Europe. A few years later, in 1866, ( 

Prof. J. D. Whitney announced the 
discovery ot a skull, nearly complete, 
at a depth of about 130 feet. This 
was in Calaveras County, on the west 
ern slope of the Sierra Nevadas. The 
deposit rested on a bed of lava, and 
was covered with severallayers of vol 
canic deposits. The skull was imbed 
ded in consolidated gravel, in which 
were several other fragments of human 
bones and remains of some small ani 
mals and the shell of a land snail. 
Much discussion followed this discov 
ery. Many were inclined to doubt 
its genuineness. Some maintained that 
the miners had perpetrated a trick, as 
the skull was taken from the shaft of 

r ,, T> r Fig.S. Place of the Second "Find. 

one of the ancient mines. Profes 
sor Whitney, however, published a letter, in which he maintained 
the genuineness of the find, and claimed for the skull extreme 
antiquity. His words are : "I feel no hesitation in saying that 




we have unequivocal proofs of the existence of man on the 
Pacific Coast prior to the glacial periods, prior to the existence 
of the mastodon and the elephant, and at a time when animal 
and vegetable life were entirely different from what they are now, 
and since which a vertical erosion of from two thousand to three 
thousand feet of hard rock strata has taken place." He pub 
lished a monograph on auriferous gravels, in which he described 
the various localities where steatite .pots and ollas and mortars 
had been found, some of them at the depth of fifty feet. Major 
J. W. Powell has shown that these were just such mortars as are 
found on the surface and so should be classed with neolithic 
relics of an advanced type. Fig. 5. It should be said also of 
the Calaveras skull itself that it gives contradictory evidence. 
While in some respects it resembles the Eskimo type, it is far 
from being such a skull as one 
would expect to find in the gravel 
beds. Judging from its position 
we should consider this perhaps 
the most ancient relic which has 
been discovered, and might con 
clude that it proved that man 
existed in the tertiary period, 
but an examination of the skull 
would lead to the opposite con 
clusion. The Neanderthal skull 
stands in the world of science 
as the representative of the most 
ancient of the human race. The 
Calaveras skull is in strong con 
trast with the Neanderthal, It 
was found at a greater depth and 
should be the older, but it was 
superior and so would be classed 
as the younger. 

Dr. Thomas Wilson sums up 
the characteristics of paleolithic 

man as far as known. "He was short of stature and strong of 
limb. His head was long in proportion to its breadth, his under 
jaw was square and heavy, and his chin sloped backward, and 
he had a retreating forehead. His skull was small in front and 
large behind." No such characteristics can be recognized in the 
ancient American. It is a theory with some that the paleo 
lithic man of Europe migrated through Northern Asia and sur 
vives in the Eskimo of the present. This is indeed possible. 
This paleolithic man might, in the very early ages, have passed 
over the bridge formed by the Aleutian Islands. He may have 
migrated southward, keeping on the edge of the " ice sheet." 
He may afterward, after the ice sheet retired, moved northward, 




Fig. 5. Pestle and Mortar. 



leaving a few stray specimens buried in the gravel-beds, but the 
ollas and the mortars are still unaccounted for. 

In reference to the relics found in these gravels, Prof. F. G. 
Wright says: " I was so fortunate as to run upon evidence of a 
previously unreported instance of the discovery of a stone mortar 
under Table Mountain. This mortar was found in 1887, 100 
feet below the surface and 175 feet in a horizontal line from the 
edge of the basalt; made from a small boulder. It is six and a 
half inches through the hollow, being about three and a half 
inches in diameter and three inches deep. Another mortar was 
discovered in 1879, and was reported in 1891 as coming from 
undisturbed gravel, and a pestle was presented by Mr. J. F. 
Becker to the Geological Society with the assurance that Mr. 
Clarence King took it with his own hands, 
twenty years before, from the gravel under 
Table Mountain."* 

The Nampa Image has excited much at 
tention. It has been described by Prof. 
Wright. f It was discovered at Boise City, 
Idaho Territory, in an artesian well at a depth 
of 320 feet and 200 feet below the lava rock, 
in a layer of coarse sand, and immedi 
ately above a vegetable soil. The deposits 
may have been caused by some ancient ob 
struction of the Snake River, or by some 
^ sudden flood caused by the melting of the 
glaciers of Yellowstone Park. The image, according to one 
account by Professor Wright, was made of clay the same kind 
of clay which came out in balls from the well. According to 
another it was carved out of rather fine pumice stone, though in 
his last report it was made of slightly baked clay, encrusted with 
a coating of red oxide of iron. It was an inch and a half long. 
It came up in the sand pump through the heavy iron tubing, six 
inches in diameter.J See Figs. 6 and 7. " The high degree of 
art displayed is noteworthy and the proportions are perfect, and 
there is a pose of the body that is remarkable. These differentiate 
it from anything that has been found among the relics of the 
Mound-builders." 

Another discovery was the so-called " fossil foot-prints." It 
was made by Dr. Earl Flint, of Nicaragua. The " foot-prints " 
were found in the solid tufa in the neighborhood of Lake Mana 
gua. He found also in the same vicinity a cave which con 
tained " rock inscriptions," some of them in the shape of sun 
symbols. His theory was that the foot-prints and inscriptions 

*See Popular Science Monthly, July, 1K91, p. 319. 

tSee AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN, Vol. XI., No 6. The cuts are from The New York 
Independent. 

tSee proceedings of Boston Natural History Society, January, 1890, Popular Science 
Monthly, July, 1891. 





PLATE I.-FOSSIL FOOT-PBINT PBOM NICABAGUA. 




EUROPEAN PALEOLITHIC CAVE AT GAILENREUTH. 




PLATE II -AMERICAN NEOLITHIC CAVE IN COLORADO. 



were made at a very ancient date, and that man existed as early 
as the eocene or miocene. Imprints were sent to Prof. Baird, 
to Dr. D. G. Brinton and to Prof. F. W. Putnam and with them 
specimens of the shells which were found with the "foot-prints." 
See Plate I. This discovery caused considerable discussion, but 
Dr. Brinton and others took the ground that the "tufa" in 
which the foot-prints were imbedded may have been the result of 
an eruption, comparatively recent, and that the shells and other 
associated tokens do not show great age. The claim that the 
Cave-dwellers were capable of marking complicated sun symbols 
upon the rocks, and of protecting their feet with sandals as they 
walked over the tufas, is not in keeping with the idea of great 
antiquity. Certainly man who was associated with extinct ani 
mals was not likely to have attained to any such advanced state. 

II. We turn next to the Cave-dwellers. It is due to the 
naturalist Lund that the discovery of Cave-dwellers in America 
was made. In a cave excavated in 
the limestone on the borders of a 
lake in the province of Minas Geraes, 
Brazil, he dug out the bones of 
more than thirty individuals. Mixed 
up promiscuously with the human 
remains were found those of several 
animals still extant in the same re 
gion. Pursuing his researches, he 
explored more than a thousand 
caves, but in only six of them did 
he find human bones associated 
with extinct animals. He succeeded 
in gathering complete specimens of 
forty-four species now extinct, in 
cluding a rodent of the size of the 
tapir, a peccary twice as large as 
the living species; a megatherium, 
large cat, bigger than a jaguar ; a 
smilodon, a large animal akin to the 
saber toothed tiger ; an edentate 
of the size of the tapir; and also a Fig. s.-Reiic from cave. 
species of the horse, similar to our own ; a llama and several 
monkeys. Lund claims the presence of man on the American 
continent from very remote antiquity, that his appearance dated 
in South America not only earlier than any prehistoric period, 
but even earlier in the prehistoric period than is claimed for 
man in Europe, as several species of animals have disappeared 
from the fauna since his advent. Another explorer, Ameghino, 
also tells us that on the banks of the little stream of Frias, 
twenty leagues from Buenos Ayres, he met with human fossils 
mixed with charcoal, pottery, burnt and scratched bones, arrow 




8 



heads, chisels, stone knives, together with a number of bones of 
extinct animals on which were marks of chopping, evidently 
done by the hand of man. Ameghino s discoveries led to long 
discussions. Burmeister rejected the theory of the contem- 
poranity of man and mammals whose bones were found to 
gether, the Argentine Scientific Society even refusing to listen to 
a memoir upon this subject. 

A discussion has arisen about the caves and the geological 
time which we must assign to the upper stratum where the 
human bones were found. Darwin considers it recent, Bur 
meister assigns it to the quaternary, while Lund thinks they are 
alluvial deposits. The discoveries in North America are no less 




Figs. 9 and 10. Paleolithic Relics from Caves in France. 

curious, though we accept them with a little more confidence.* 
See Figs. 8. 9, and io.f Here the Cave-dwellers, so far as 
they have been discovered have proved to be comparatively 
modern. There are no examples in which the Cave-dwellers 
and extinct animals were associated. A great contrast exists be 
tween caves in North America and those in Europe. We call 
attention to the cut (Plate II) which represents a cave at Gailen- 
reuth. in Bavaria. It shows how the bones of man were deposited 
by the floods which filled the caves at intervals and how the 
stalagmites gradually accumulated and covered over the layers 
of bones with a rocky crust. In contrast with this are the shelter 
caves which were occupied by the Cliff-dwellers. In them were 
the houses of the people, and all the conveniences for permanent 
abode. The cuts show that American Cave-dwellers were neo 
lithic, not paleolithic. Fig. 11. 

Caves have been discovered on the northwest coast, in Cali 
fornia, associated with kitchen middens. Shelter caves have 
been discovered near the Atlantic coast. One of them, near 
Chickies, Pa., has been described by S. S. Haldeman. It is said 

*See Nadaillac s Prehistoric American, page 23. Nott. & Gllddon, page 350. Arch 
ives de Museo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, 1H76. 

tWe give a few cuts of the relics taken from the caves in France. These are de 
scribed by Dr. Thomas Wilson and classed with the Mousterien epoch, which he 
regards as contemporary with the glacial period. Another relic illustrates the Made- 
lefnien epoch. Phis epoch was marked by the presence of the reindeer, figures of 
the reindeer, mammoth and cave- bear having been found engraved on tusk s, deer s 
horns and flat stones. These were found in shelter caves. 



9 



to have contained many rude stone relics as well as human re 
mains. Shelter caves have been 
described by C. C. Baldwin and 
M. C. Read, as found at Elyria 
and Newbury, Ohio. These 
contain many bone relics, such 
as awls, needles, chisels and 
various other rude articles. They 
resemble the tools used by the 
aborigines and can ^hardly be 
ascribed to an ancient race. 
They illustrate, however, one 
point that the condition of the 
Cave-dwellers and early hunters 
has been perpetuated among the 
hunters and savages of this con 
tinent. The absence of the ^ 
bones of extinct animals as well ^ 
as the character of the relics *j* 
would prove that they were com- g> 
paratively modern. Col. Charles | 
Whittlesey held that there were o 
three races in Ohio, the first be- | 
ing the Mound-builders, the sec- | 
ond being the Cave-dwellers, the o- 
third being the Indians ; but ^ 
Prof. Read held that there was | 
a race preceding the Mound- 
builders, a race whose skulls ^ 
were very thick and of a low type. $; 
Prof. F. W. Putnam draws a dis- b 
tinction between early Mound- s, 
builders and late Indians, assign- 1 
ing to the latter the long, narrow 
skulls so common, but to the 
former the round skulls, and con 
siders that these were of South 
ern origin. 

A shelter cave was discovered 
near San Jose, in California, by 
Dr. Stephen Bowers. It con 
tained a number of baskets, in 
which were bundles of painted, 
sticks, covered with peculiar 
signs, probably the outfit of a 
modern "medicine man." Caves 
have also been found in Utah, 
but as the remains of man were 











J0S& 



PLAN OF 
"Mound at 

DTJNEDIN^ 

Billsboro Co, 



FIG. 2. 



11 

been described by Mr. Paul Schumacher. He speaks of them 
as divided into temporary camps and regular settlements, the 
relics in the "heaps" varying according to the locality. In 
Southern California "tons of flint chips are found scattered about 
in all directions; knives, arrow-heads and spear- heads in large 
numbers. There were graves in some of these, and painted slabs 
placed over the graves. Cups, ornaments, shell-beads and cook 
ing utensils were also found. Sandstone mortars of large size, 
with pestles, an assortment of cups of serpentine, spear-heads of 
obsidian, lance-points of chalcedony, a bronze cup filled with 
red paint, corroded iron knives, the relics all showing great 
variety and indicating successive periods of time, the last period 
being as late as the time of the Spanish occupation." 

There are shell heaps also in the interior. These contain 
fresh water shells and illustrate the fact that the natives every 
where gained their subsistence from the waters. We may take 
the evidence that fishermen, hunters, agricultural people and vil 
lagers dwelt in various localities about the continent. The 
theory of the gradual progress of mankind is demonstrated here 
as in Europe. The American races stretched from the Arctic 
Circle to Terra. del Fuego, but a great variety is exhibited by 
them. It is a question whether we can ascribe to them aborig 
inal unity or say that they were all indigenous. 

V. We now come to the period of the mammoth and the mas 
todon. There is a mystery about this period. JThere is no 
doubt that these animals once existed on this continent and that 
they may have been contemporaneous with man. It is not 
improbable that the Mound-builders were acquainted with the 
mammoth. In the "bottom land" of the Bourbouse River, 
Gasconade County, Missouri, Dr. Koch discovered the remains 
of a mastodon. The animal had sunk in the mud of the marshes, 
borne down by its own weight, and being unable to regain its 
footing, had fallen on its right side. Here it was attacked by 
aborigines, who threw at it arrows, stones and pieces of rock, 
and succeeded in lighting fires around it, to which the heaps of 
cinders, some of them six feet high, still bore witness. Some 
of the rocks weighed no less than twenty-five pounds and had 
been brought from a great distance. The following year he 
made a similar discovery in Brinton County, Missouri. Here, 
under the thigh bone of a mastodon, he found an arrow of pink 
quartz, and a little farther off he found four other arrows, all of 
which had been shot at the mastodon. Unfortunately Koch s 
want of scientific knowledge and the exaggerations with which 
he accompanied his story at first, threw some discredit upon the 
facts themselves, but the recent discoveries of Dr. Hughey in 
Iowa and Nebraska, and by the author in Ohio, have now con- 
, firmed them. In all of these localities the bones of the mastodon 
were mixed with ashes, traces of fire and arrow-heads and stone 



12 



weapons were in close proximity. The animals in all cases seem 
to have been mired in the peat beds and attacked by the men 
who lived in prehistoric times. In the Davenport Academy 
there are two pipes made in imitation of the elephant or masto 
don. One of these pipes is said to have been taken out from 
the depths of a mound in Louisa County, Iowa. A German 
clergyman, Rev. A. Blumer, having first discovered it, handed 
it to Rev. J. E. Gass, his companion in exploration. It is un 
reasonable to doubt the genuineness of this find, even if the re 
markable discoveries 
which were made by 
the latter gentleman 
have been discredited. 
A second elephant 
pipe (Fig. 13), which 
had been discovered 
in a corn-field by a 
German farmer by the 
name of Myers, after 
wards came into the 
hands of Mr. Gass. 
Three celebrated tab 
lets were discovered 
by Mr. Gass in the 
mound on the Cook 
farm, near Davenport. 
On one of these tab 
lets is a hunting scene 
containing thirty fig 
ures of animals and 
men, the animals be 
ing deer, bear, wolf 
and fish, and one of 
them resembling an 
elephant. The tablets 
have not been re 
garded as genuine. One of them contains a cremation scene, 
though the mounds of the locality give no trace of cremation 
having been practiced. 

We shall speak next of the salt mines, cypress rafts, peat 
swamps and other places where mastodons have been discovered 
These have been dwelt upon as proving extreme antiquity, but 
they are classed together here, as marking one period of time. 
During the late rebellion a salt mine was worked on Petite Ansie 
Island. A fragment of matting was found on the salt fifteen feet 
below the surface of the soil. Two feet below were the remains 
of tusks and bones of a fossil elephant. The matting was made 
of the common southern cane, but had been preserved by the 




Fig. n. Paleolithic Axe. 



13 

salt. Indescribable quantities of pottery were thrown out, 
mingled with the remains of extinct quadrupeds. The animals 
seem to have been bogged and perished in the miry clay above 
the salt. This locality was examined by Prof. E. W. Hilgard 
and Dr. E. Fontaine. The latter maintains that the soil above 
them was quatenary, belonging to the bluff formation, overlying 
the orange sand. Prof. Hilgard says that the deposit was 
washed down from the surrounding hills, but that mastodon 
bones were found above some of the human relics. Dr. Holmes 
in 1859 made communication to the Philadelphia Academy of 
Natural Science, in which he described the fragments of pottery 
found on the Ashley River, of South Carolina, in connection 




Fig. IS. Elephant Pipe. 

with the bones of the mastodon and negathirium, both of them 
extinct animals. Mr. E. L. Berthoud claims to have discovered 
a complete suite of stone implements in tertiary gravel and 
coevil with it. This was on Crow Creek, Wyoming, He also 
claims that stone heaps and circles, flint toois and weapons, 
marking the site of a deserted ancient village, totally unlike 
modern Indian or Mound-builders vestiges. The oldest evi 
dences do not show traces of fire, but a rude barbarism of the 
first attempts of art lead us to compare them to the rude tools 
of Abbeyville in France and the implements of Kent in England. 
The human skeleton excavated at the depth of sixteen ieet from 
beneath four successive layers of cypress trees in the delta of 
the Mississippi River, near New Orleans, has been often referred 
to. Dr. Dowler claimed three epochs for the delta; first, that of 
the grasses; second, that of the lagoon; third, that of a live oak 
platform; but Dr. J. W. Foster says what he regards as four 
buried forests may be nothing more than driftwood brought 
down in former times. 

We speak of these uncertainties about the relics which con 
tain the images of the elephant and mastodon because they 



14 

illustrate a point. There are no hard and fast lines between the 
earliest age of the appearance of man and the different epochs 
of the prehistoric age. The mammoth and the mastodon came 
upon the stage long before the glacial period. Their sway is 
supposed to have been broken by the convulsions and changes 
which occurred at the close of that period. Specimens of them 
may, however, have survived even after prehistoric man appeared. 
The two ages overlapped another. In the same way the historic 
and prehistoric ages seemed to have merged together, the records 
of the two being mingled the one into the other, the same as in 
Europe. There are images of the mastodon inscribed on the 
bones taken from the caves at Dordogne, showing that man was 
there contemporaneous with the mastodon. Immense carcasses 
of the same animal have also been found frozen into the mud 
in Siberia, and so excellently preserved that the dogs fed upon 
the flesh. Other carcasses have been seen floating in the waters 
of the Lena River, having been washed out from their long 
resting place by a flood. It is supposed that from the same 
region the animals whose bodies are found in the peat swamps 
of Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, New York, and as far south as 
North Carolina, formerly migrated, taking perhaps the same 
route which their hunters took afterward, when they came into 
this continent. The glacial period served to bury the majority 
of them. The swamps of the quaternary age furnished their 
graves. Uncertain dates are brought before us by these events. 
Man also came in at an uncertain age. We can not fix upon the 
time when he first made his appearance. 



TEMIS 

STOCKADES 



HUNTERS 
\pORSHI 

\EF 



HORTItULTURlSTS 
SUW -MOON 



/.OCCUPATION, 



3.CHARACTERISTIC \VORKS, 



SiT THE MDUND-BU1L&ERS. 




15 



CHAPTER II. 



THE MOUND-BUILDERS AND THEIR WORKS. 

We now come to the Mound-builders. It is well known 
that a people called Mound-builders once inhabited the interior 
of North America. Who this people were, whence they came, 
whither they went, are among the unsolved problems. An im 
penetrable mystery hangs over their history. All that we know 
of them is learned from their structures, works and relics. To 
these mute witnesses we must resort if we are to learn anything 
of the character of this people. The first inquiry is, Who were 
the Mound-builders? This question will probably be answered 
in different ways, but before answering it we shall icfer to the 
points involved and leave it for our readers to draw their own 
conclusions. 

We take up the division of the Mound-builders as the especial 
subject of this chapter. Let us first consider the name, however. 
The name "mound-builder" is a general one, indicating that there 
was once a people who were accustomed to build mounds. In 
this general sense there is much significance to the name, in 
that it suggests one characteristic or custom of the people. 
There is, however, a sense in which the word is used, which 
makes it very expressive, for it furnishes to us not only a picture 
of the mounds and earth-works, but also indicates much in ref 
erence to the people. We may say in this connection that there 
are several such words in the archaeological vocabulary which 
have proved equally significant. To illustrate: We use the 
words " cave-dweller," "cliff-dweller," "lake-dweller," signifying 
by these terms not merely the fact that those people once lived 
in caves or cliffs or above lakes, but implying also that they had 
a mode of life, style of abode, stages of progress, which were 
peculiar and distinct. We infer from this, that the prehistoric 
age was divided into different epochs, and that each epoch was 
distinguished by a different class of structures. This interpre 
tation may need to be modified, for there are certain indications 
that several representatives of the stone age may have been 




16 

temporaneous. Still, the modes of life, occupations and hab 
itations were the result of location and of physical surroundings 
rather than of "age" or stages of progress. While the stone age 
may be recognized among the Mound-builders, yet a subdivision 
of that age into epochs may be a safeguard against premature 
conclusions and unsafe theories, keeping us from extreme opin 
ions. Our readers are aware that the Mound-builders were once 
supposed to have been a remarkable people, and allied with the 
historic and civilized races, but that latterly the opinion has gone 
to the other extreme, the low grade and rude civilization of the 
wild hunter Indians being frequently ascribed to the entire peo 
ple, no distinction or limitation being drawn between them. We 
maintain, however, that the Mound-builders problem has not 
been fully solved, and that, therefore, it is premature to take any 
decided position as to the actual character and condition of this 
mysterious people. All that we can do is to set forth the points 
which we suppose have been established and leave other conclu 
sions for the future. 

I. The place where the works of the Mound-builders are most 
numerous is the Mississippi Valley. In a general way their 
habitat may be bounded by the great geographical features of 
this valley; the chain of great lakes to the north, the Alleghany 
mountains on the east, the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and 
the Great Desert on the west. Within these bounds, mainly, do 
we find the structures which have given name to this strange 
people; and we may describe them as the ancient inhabitants of 
the Mississippi Valley who built mounds. There are barrows 
or mounds in Europe and in Asia. There are mounds or earth 
works in Honduras, Yucatan and Central America, as well as in 
Oregon and on the northwest coast, but the structures in this 
region are distinctive, and peculiar to the inhabitants who dwelt 
here. Nowhere else on the continent are they found in such 
great numbers. Nowhere else are they found so exclusively 
free from the presence of other structures. Nowhere else is such 
a variety of earthworks. To the eastward, along the coast of the 
Atlantic, there are earth-works, such as stockades, fortifications 
and village enclosures. To the westward, beyond the Rocky 
mountains, there are pueblos, rock fortresses and stone structures. 
To the northward, beyond the lakes, there are occasionally found 
walls and earth-works; but in the valley ot the Mississippi those 
structures are discovered which may be regarded as distinctive. 
The peculiarities which distinguish these from others, aside from 
their being exclusively earthworks, are, first, their solidity; sec 
ond, their massiveness, and, third, their peculiar forms. By these 
means the works of the Mound-builders are identified, and in 
their own territory, wherever a structure may have been erected 
by a later race, it may be known by the absence of these quali 
ties. There are occasionally earth-works in the valley of the 



17 




MAP OP BURIAL MOUNDS NEAR MUSCATINE. 



IS 



[" w ACTION of IWEIVC tuus or tut 

\; SCIOTO VAIAEr 

*"" " 
- /j ANCIENT MONUMtBIi 

"<?{ fefisirUUej tj E. G. Syiiiet: 184 7. 



. 




MAP OF THE WORKS OF THE SCIOTO VALLEY. 



19 

Mississippi, especially through the northern part, bordering on 
the lakes, which were evidently built by the later Indians. Their 
resemblance, however, to the fortifications east of the Allegha- 
nies, and the evident design for which they were erected, as 
defensive or village enclosures, the unfailing spring attending 
them, the absence of any religious significance, and their want of 
solidity and massiveness, help to distinguish them from the 
works of the Mound-builders. 

We take the picture presented by this valley and find it strik 
ingly adapted to the use of a class of people who were partially 
civilized. On either side are the high mountains, constituting 
barriers to their great domain. At the foot of the western 
mountains are the plateaus or table-lands, which have formed 
from time immemorial the feeding places for the great herds of 
buffaloes. In the northern portion of the valley, bordering upon 
the chain of the great lakes, are great forests abounding with 
wild animals of all kinds, which must have been the hunting- 
grounds of this obscure people. The center was traversed by 
the Appalachian range, which was the fit abode for a military 
class of people. Along the lines of the great streams were the 
many terraces, forming sites upon which the people could build 
their villages, and yet have access to the waters which flowed 
at their base. Many of these terraces were formed by the gravel 
beds left by the great glacial sea which once rested upon the 
northern portion of the valley Below the terraces, and all along 
the borders of the rivers, were the rich alluvial bottom lands 
which so favored the cultivation of maize and yielded rich return 
to a slight amount of labor. Broad prairies interspersed with 
forests and groves, and traversed by numberless streams gave 
variety to the scene. It was a region built on a grand scale and 
was capable of supporting a numerous and industrious popula 
tion. We may suppose that the Mound-builders, when they 
entered it, were influenced by their surroundings, and that they 
soon learned its resources. We can not look upon them as 
merely hunters or wild savages, but a people who were capable 
of filling this broad domain with a life peculiar to themselves, and 
yet were correlated to the scene in which they were placed. 

Here, with a diversity of climate an abundance of products, 
the people led a varied life. They were to gain their subsistence 
from the great forests and from the wide prairies, and were to 
fill them with their activities. A river system which, for thou 
sands of miles, drained the interior, furnished the channels for 
communication, and was evidently well understood by this peo 
ple. A vast sedimentary basin, through which the rivers have 
worn deep channels, leaving table-lands, cut by a thousand 
ravines, and presenting bluffs, head-lands, high hills, narrow 
isthmuses, detached island-like cliffs, in some cases precipitous 
and difficult of access, furnished many places on which this peo- 



20 

pie could build their defenses, covering them with complicated 
works resembling the citadels of the Old World, beneath which 
they could place their villages and dwell in safety. 

The number of these ancient villages is well calculated to ex 
cite surprise. Ten thousand burial mounds or tombs were found 
in the single State of Ohio, and also a thousand or fifteen hun 
dred enclosures in the same state. Nor is their magnitude less 
a matter of surprise than their number. Twenty miles of em 
bankment constitute one series of works. Walls sometimes 
thirty feet in height, and enclosing from fifty to four hundred 
acres, surround their fortifications. Pyramids one hundred feet 
in height, covering sixteen acres of ground, divided into wide 
terraces, three hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, vying with 
the pyramids of Egypt, formed the foundations for their great 
houses. Mounds formed their lookout stations, sixty and ninety 
feet in height. The variety of their works was great, and their 
distribution widespread. In one part of this wide domain there 
were game-drives, in which the animals hunted were erected in 
effigy. In another part were garden beds, covering hundreds of 
acres, and presenting many curious patterns ; in another, large 
groups and lines of burial mounds ; in another, many circles and 
fort-rings; in another, lodge circles and hut-rings; in another, 
village circles and dance-rings, interspersed with temple plat 
forms ; in another, extensive enclosures, with domiciliary plat 
forms; in another, groups of pyramids, interspersed with fish 
ponds, surrounded by earth-walls. Everywhere was manifest a 
wonderful adaptation of the works to the soil and scenery and 
physical surroundings. Different grades of advancement were 
exhibited, but at the same time great activity and great skill in 
gaining subsistence. Every spot was well chosen and the works 
-placed upon it were best adapted to the locality. 

II. A distinction between the races of the Mississippi Valley 
according to geographical lines is to be noticed, those north of 
the great lakes being generally identified with later tribes of 
wild hunter Indians; those which adjoin the lakes, and which 
extend from New York State through Northern Ohio to Michi 
gan, also being ascribed to a military people resembling the 
Iroquoisj those on the Ohio to a class of villagers who were 
more advanced than any ordinary Indians, and those of the 
Southern States to a class of pyramid-builders, who were the 
most advanced of all. The distinction is, however, not only 
geographical, but chronological, for there are relics which are 
as strictly military among the villages or sacred enclosures as 
among those in the homes of the warlike Indians, and there are 
tokens in the midst of the pyramids which indicate that modern 
hunters have roamed among the agricultural works, and that 
sun-worshipers and animal-worshipers have traversed the same 
regions. 



21 

A simple earth-wall, running around the brow of some gentle 
declivity, or the top of some precipice, or on the edge of some 
isolated island, presents a very different aspect from those struc 
tures which are found oftentimes in the midst of large and fertile 
valleys, or upon many of the plats of ground where now stand 
some of the largest cities of modern days, and which, for mas- 
siveness and extent, surprise even those who behold them in the 
midst ot the works of civilized man. These earth-walls, or sc- 
called stockades, we maintain, were the works of the later 
Indians, and can be easily distinguished from the earlier Mound- 
builders by certain unmistakable evidences. The same may be 
said also of the relics and other tokens. They may be found in 
the Mound-builders territory, but were, many of them, of a later 
date and of a ruder character, and should be ascribed to a differ 
ent people and not be confined to one date or race, much less 
to the so-called modern Indians known to history. 

In reference to this point we may say that the evidences are 
numerous that the people who built the mounds in the Missis 
sippi Valley belonged to different races and occupied the country 
at different periods and may have come from different sources. 

(i.) The traditions of the Indians prove that the lands have 
been inhabited by different races and at different periods. These 
traditions prevail not only among the northern Indians, such as 
the Delawares, the Iroquois and the Algonkins, but also among 
the southern tribes, such as the Cherokees, the Creeks, Choc- 
taws and Muskogees, all of them indicating that there were later 
migrations and that other races were in the valley before these 
tribes reached it. The traditions of some of the Indians, espe 
cially those of the south, point back to a period when their 
ancestors began the process of mound-building; with others the 
traditions point to a time when they began to occupy the mounds 
which had been built by another and a preceding people. No 
where, however, is it claimed that the Indians were the first peo 
ple who occupied the country or that their ancestors were the 
first race who built mounds. The evidence is clear that among 
the various tribes some of them, in the course of the.ir migrations, 
had been led to abandon their particular mode of building mounds 
and had adopted the mode of the people whose territory they 
invaded, and thus the same class of structures continued under 
the successive races; but the beginning of the mound-building 
period is always carried back indefinitely, and is generally as 
cribed to some preceding people. 

(2.) The relics and remains prove also a succession of races. 
This is an important point. A discussion has arisen among 
archaeologists as to who the Mound-builders were, and the idea 
has been conveyed by some that the Mound-builders were to be 
identified with this or that tribe which occupied the region at the 
opening of history. This, however, is misleading. It limits us 



22 



to a very modern period and serves to cut off investigation into 
the more remote ages oi the mound-building period. 

Our position is that many of the mounds contain a record of 
successive periods of occupation, some of the burial mounds 
having been built by several different and successive tribes, and 
the layers in the mounds being really the work of different tribes. 
The prehistoric record is plain. The skulls and skeletons found 
near the surface we may regard as the latest tokens, some of 
them being quite modern, and the rude relics found in the gravel 
beds being regarded as the earliest tokens; but the mound-build 
ing tokens extended through a long period of time. On these 
points we give the testimony of the various gentlemen who have 
explored these mounds. Prof. Putnam says: " In the great Ohio 
Valley we have found places of contact and mixture of two 




Fig. Ik- Animal Effigies. 

races and have made out much of interest, telling of conflict and 
defeat, of the conquered and the conquerors. The long, narrow- 
headed people from the north, who can be traced from the Pacific 
to the Atlantic, extending down both coasts, and extending their 
branches towards the interior, meeting the short-headed and 
southern race, here and there. Our explorations have brought 
to light considerable evidence to show that after the rivers cut 
their way through the glacial gravels and formed their present 
channels, leaving great alluvial plains upon their borders, a race 
of men, with short, broad heads, reached the valley from the 
southwest. Here they cultivated the land, raised crops of corn 
and vegetables, and became skilled artisans in stone and their 
native metals, in shell and terra-cotta, making weapons and or 
naments and utensils of various kinds. Here were their places 
of worship. Here were their towns, often surrounded by earth 
embankments, their fixed places for burning their dead, their 
altars of clay, where cremation offerings, ornaments, by thou 
sands were thrown upon the fire. Upon the hills near by were 



23 

their places of refuge or fortified towns. Preceding these were 
the people of the glacial gravels. The implements which had 
been lost by preglacial men have been found in the Miami Valley, 
as in the Delaware Valley. This would seem to give a minimum 
antiquity of man s existence in the Ohio Valley from eight to 
ten thousand years. From the time when man was the con 
temporary of the mastodon and mammoth to the settlement of 
the region by our own race, successive peoples have inhabited 
this valley."* 

III. We turn to the division of the Mound-builders territory. 
This illustrates several things. It proves that the Mound- 
builders were, as we have said, greatly influenced by their envi 
ronments and that their works were correlated to the geographical 
district. It proves also that there was, in a general way, a cor 
respondence between the Mound-builder and the Indian, as differ 
ent classes of earth-works and different tribes of Indians have 
been found in locations or in districts whose boundaries were 




Fig. 15. Burial Mounds. 

remarkably similar. This, to some minds, would prove that the 
Mound-builders and Indians were the same people; but if we 
take into account that there was a succession of races, and that 
each race was equally influenced by its environment, we may 
conclude that the effort to identify the later with the earlier peo 
ple will require something more than mere geographical division. 
Let us now examine the earth-works of the different districts. 
(i.) The first system which we shall mention is that found in the 
State of Wisconsin, a State abounding with emblematic mounds. 
These mounds are confined almost exclusively to the small ter 
ritory west of Lake Michigan, east of the Mississippi, south of 
the Fox River and north of the mouth of the Rock River, 
though a few have been found in Eastern Iowa and Southern 
Minnesota, on the land immediately adjoining the Mississippi 
River. The peculiarity of the mounds is that they so strangely 
resemble the forms of the wild animals formerly abounding in 
the territory. Very few, if any, extralimital animals are repre 
sented in them. The position of these effigies is also noticeable. 
They are generally located on hill-tops overlooking the beautiful 
streams and lakes so numerous here. The attitudes of the animals 

*Twenty-second Report Peabody Museum, page 53. 



24 



are represented by the effigies and the habits are portrayed by 
the shapes and associations of these earth-works. See Fig. 14. 
We enter this district and find a remarkable picture of animal 
life as it existed in the mound-building period. Elk and moose 
and the large grazing animals are portrayed as feeding; panthers 
and wolves are represented as fighting; wild geese, wild duck, 
eagles, swallows and hawks and pigeons as flying ; squirrels, 
foxes, coons, as playing and running; lizards, tadpoles, snakes 
and eels as crawling; fish and turtles as swimming, and yet all 
seem to have an indescribable charm about them, as if they had 
been portrayed by the hand of a superstitious people. 

The effigies may have been used as totems by the people, and 
thus show to us the animal divinities which were worshiped and 
the animal names given to the clans; but the clans and the ani 

mals are remarkably correlated, 
the names of the very animals 
which prevailed here having 
been borne by the clans. More 
than this, the use of the effigies 
as protectors to villages, as aids 
to the hunters, and as guardians 
to graves, furnish an additional 
picture of the real life of the peo 
ple. The attitudes of the ani 
mals are always natural, portray 
ing habits and even motions, but 
a condition is recognized beyond 
mere animal condition. 

In this same State we find the 
copper mines, which have been 
worked, and the tools which were used, by the ancient miners. 
They were rude contrivances, and yet show the skill of the natives 
in overcoming obstacles. Without knowledge of the mechanical 
inventions of the wheel and pulley, without the art of smelting, 
or even of molding the precious metals, the Mound-builders of 
this region succeeded in manufacturing all the metal tools which 
were necessary for their purpose, being mostly tools used by 
hunters, such as knives, spear-heads, axes, chisels, awls, needles 
and a few ornamental pieces. It is a remarkable fact that imi 
tative art was expended upon the effigies, which elsewhere em 
bodied itself in stone relics or in metal ornaments. 

(2.) The second district is the one characterized by burial 
mounds or ordinary tumuli. See Fig. 15. This is an interesftng 
class of earth-works and may be designated as "prairie mounds." 
They are situated, to be sure, on the banks of streams, rivers, 
lakes, marshes, but they are in the midst ot the broad prairie 
region stretching across the north half of the States of Indiana, 
Illinois, all of Iowa, Minnesota, Dakota, part of Kansas and 




vi-Fort at Conneaut. 



25 



Missouri. This broad expanse of territory seemed to have been 
occupied by tribes of Mound-builders who merely erected burial 
mounds, but who, owing to their unsettled, migratory habits, did 
not even stop to build walled defenses for themselves ; their 
works consist mainly in tumuli, vast numbers of which are found 
scattered over this entire region. We do not say that they were 
entirely destitute of defense, for there are occsaional earth walls 
which show that there were permanent villages, but, in the main, 
defense must have been secured by stockades rather than by 
earth walls. Occasionally there are ridges or converging walls 
which resemble the game-drives of Wisconsin, and these furnish 
additional proof that the people were hunters.* The mounds 
occasionally present relics reminding us of the hunting habits of 
the peopie who erected them. 
Pipes in the shape of raccoons, 
prairie-dogs, beavers, turtles, liz 
ards, eagles, hawks, otters, wild 
cats, panthers, prairie-chickens, 
ducks, and frogs, show that they 
were familiar with wild ani 
mals. The relics which are most 
numerous are spear-heads, ar 
row-heads, knives, axes and such 
other implements as would be 
used by wild hunters, with a very 
considerable number of copper 
implements axes or celts, awls, 1 
knives, needles, and occasionally 
specimens of woven fiber, which Fig. 17. Fort at weymoutn, o. 
might have formed the clothing for a rude people, and a few 
specimens of the higher works of art, but there is an entire 
absence of the symbols found in the mounds of the south. 

(3.) The third district is the one belonging to the military 
class of Mound-builders. This district formerly abounded in 
forests, and was especially adapted to warlike races, It embraces 
the region situated in the hill coVmtry of New York,f Pennsyl 
vania and West Virginia, and extends along the banks of Lake 
Erie into the State of Michigan. See Figs. 16 and 17. 

The mode of life in these regions was military. It was a 
necessity of their very situation. Here was the effect of nature 
upon the state of society which was inevitable. These works 
were military and defensive, as from the nature of their surround 
ings they must be. The forests gave too much opportunity for 




*They are generally built at leading points along the shore of the lakes or on the 
banks of the principal streams, and are found as far apart as Manitoba Lake and 
the Illinois River. We call them buffalo game-drives, and conclude that the Mound- 
builders of this district were buffalo hunters. See Archaeological Journal for 1887, 
page 72; Smithsonian Report for 1870; also our book on Emblematic Mounds. 

fSee Aboriginal Monuments of Western New York, by E. G. Squier; also Cheney 
and Whittlesey s pamphlets. 



26 



treachery to avoid it. Human nature, when dwelling in such 
circumstances, would develop in this way. It made no difference 
what tribe dwelt there, there was a necessity for military habits. 
We can picture to ourselves exactly the condition of society. 
Whether the same or different tribes of people inhabited these 
regions, their mode of life was certainly dictated by circumstances. 
There were no means by which the people could overrule the 
forces of nature and gain control of her elements. It was one 
of the peculiarities of prehistoric society that it was conformed 
altogether to nature. Civilization alone overrides the difficulties 
and makes the forces of nature obedient to her wants. We call 
these military structures comparatively modern, but we do not 
know how long they continued as a class. If there were those 

who led a different life 
they were probably 
located in the valleys 
or on the borders of 
the streams, just where 
we find a few agri 
cultural works. But 
the vast majority of 
works, whether very 
ancient or more mod 
ern, are of the same 
class, military and de 
fensive. Over 300 mil 
itary structures are 
found in the single State of New York.; and scattered over the 
mountains of Virginia and Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, and 
everywhere where the hunting life and the warlike and predatory 
state would be most likely to prevail, there these military and 
defensive structures are found. 

The Iroquois, the Wyandots and the Eries were warlike peo 
ple. The Cherokees were also warriors, and may be regarded as 
the mountain tribes of the east; while the Delawares and some 
of the tribes of the Algonkins inhabiting New England and the 
northeastern States led a mingled life, partly agricultural and 
partly hunting. Thus we have in these localities, at least, a cor 
respondence between the state of the population and the physical 
surroundings. 

(4.) The fourth district is the one most worthy of notice. It 
is situated in the valley of the Ohio, and is characterized by what 
have been called " sacred enclosures." We have given them the 
name of " village enclosures." The characteristic works of the 
district are composed of the square and two circles adjoined. 
See Fig. 18. These were evidently the village sites of the peo 
ple who dwelt here and who practiced agriculture. The locations 
of the works show this. Most of them are situated on the sec- 




Fig. IS. Village Enclosure of Ohio. 



27 

ond terrace, overlooking the rich bottom lands, but often sur 
rounded by wide, level areas, on which forests trees grew to a 
great height. On the hills adjoining these village sites the 
conical mounds are numerous. These are regarded as lookout 
stations. There are also in the same region many ancient forts. 
Some of them are so situated as to give the idea that they were 
places of refuge for the villages. 

There are, in the same region, certain enclosures, which con 
tain groups of burial mounds, and in these mounds altars have 
been discovered, on which have been deposited large quantities 
of costly relics, in the shape of pearl relics, carved pipes, mica 
plates, copper spools, arrow-heads and many personal ornaments. 
These are the "sacred enclosures" which have given name to the 
district. In this district there are several truncated pyramids or 
platforms, with graded ways to the summits. These platforms 
have been called " temple mounds". The idea of some is, that 
the enclosures were places of religious assembly, resembling in 
a rude way the ancient Egyptian temples. At Marietta the en 
closures are double. Within one are three platforms, and from 
it to the water s edge, or to the bottom land, is an inclined or 
graded roadway, guarded by high banks or earth-works on either 
side. At the other end of the group is the high lookout mound, 
surrounded by a circle, and a ditch within the circle. The group 
may have been the site of an ancient village, or it may be called 
a sacred enclosure. See Frontispiece. 

(5.) The fifth district is situated along the Atlantic coast, and 
extends from the coast to the Appalachian range. It is the dis 
trict through which various Indian tribes have migrated and left 
their varied tokens beneath the soil. Among these tribes may 
be mentioned the Powhattans, the Cherokees, the Catawbas, the 
Tuscaroras, and a stray tribe of the Dakotas. It is marked by 
no ^particular class of works which can be called distinctive. 
There are in it, however, various circular enclosures containing 
conical mounds, resembling those in the fourth district These 
are found in the Kenawha Valley. Besides these are the remark 
able circular grave pits, containing bee-hive shaped cists made 
of stone found in North Carolina, There are conical mounds 
in the district which are supposed to have been the foundations 
of rotundas, as posts for the support of rotundas have been found 
on the summit. The southern portion of the district is filled 
with shell mounds and earth pyramids. Considerable discussion 
has been had as to whether the inhabitants of this region were 
the Mound-builders of the Ohio district, and a comparison has 
been drawn between the altar mounds and earth circles in this 
district and those in Ohio, both having been ascribed to the 
Cherokees. This is a point, however, which remains to be 
proved. The works of the district must be ascribed to the dif 
ferent races. 



28 



(6.) We now come to the sixth district. This is situated south 
of the Ohio River, between this and the Cumberland and Ten 
nessee. It is a mountainous and woody territory, and the people 
who formerly dwelt there may be called the mountain Mound- 
builders. The peculiarity of the works of this region is that they 
are mainly fortified villages. They are to be distinguished, how 
ever, from the fortifications of the third district, and from the 
villages of the fourth district, by the fact that they combine the 
provisions for defense and for permanent residence in the same 
enclosure. The village enclosures in Ohio are double or triple, 
but those found in this district are always single. Their loca 
tions show that they were chosen for defense, but their contents 
show that they were used for places of permanent abode. They 
consist largely of earth-walls surrounding enclosures, within 




Fig. W. Village of the Stone Grave People. 

which are pyramidal, domiciliary and burial mounds, all of which 
furnish proofs of long residence The custom of building stone 
graves and depositing relics with the dead was common here. 
Stone graves prevailed in many localities in Illinois, Southern 
Indiana, Ohio and Northern Georgia but were especially char 
acteristic of this region. See Fig. 19. 

(7.) There is a district adjoining the one just described, which 
contains mounds and earth-works somewhat similar. The region 
is generally swampy, as the rivers here often overflow their 
banks and cover the whole country with floods. The Mound- 
builders dwelt here in great numbers, and built their villages on 
the sand ridges interspersed between the overflowed lands, and 
made their way out as best they could. Their villages, however, 
were large and numerous and showed permanent residence. The 
peculiarity of the earth-works was that the walls surrounded 
enclosures, within which were pyramids, conical mounds and 
many lodge circles. We may call it the district of lodge circles. 
In some of the conical mounds there have been found large 



29 



quantities of pottery, and so the name of pottery-makers might 
be ascribed to the people. This pottery resembles that found in 
the stone graves and near the Cahokia mound, but is regarded 
as distinctive of this region. We may say that the district has 
been occupied by the Arkansas, the Kansas and Pani Indians, 
branches of the Dakotas, but it is unknown to what class the 
pottery-makers belonged. 

(8.) Intervening between these two district, and extending 
through the Gulf States, we find a series of large pyramidal 
mounds, of which Cahokia mound, near St. Louis, is a specimen. 
This region may have been occupied by the Natchez, a remark 
able people who were known to 
have been sun-worshipers and pyr 
amid-builders. Some of the largest 
groups of pyramids are located near 
the City of Natchez, the place which 
derived its name from the tribe. It 
is a region, however, where the 
Chickasaws and Choctaws, branches 
of the Muscogees, formerly dwe[t. 
This leaves the question as to who 
the builders of these pyramids 
were, still in uncertainty. 

The pyramids are supposed to 
have been occupied by the chiefs, 
and furnished foundations for the 
great houses or official residences. 
They are situated, however, in the 
midst of land subject to overflow, 
and have been explained by some 
as being places of refuge for the 
people in time of high water. 

In the eastern part of this dis 
trict there is a class of works which differs from those in the 
western. Here we see the elevated platform, and along with it 
the circular mound for the temples, and between them oftentimes 
the chunky yard and public square, the usual accompaniments 
of a native village. See Fig. 20. The race distinction is 
manifest in this form of structure, and nowhere else do we find 
it. The tribes who dwelt in this region were the Creeks, a branch 
of the Muscogees. These works have been ascribed to the Cher- 
okees, who were located in the mountains. The Cherokees, 
however, maintain that they migrated to the region and took 
possession of the works which the Creeks and Muscogees had 
erected. They also maintain that their ancestors were Cave- 
dwellers, and describe the caves from which they issued. Dr. 
Cyrus Thomas holds that the Shawnees were in this regign in 
pre-Columbian times, and refers to the evidence furnished by 




Fig. W. Chunky Yard. 



30 

the relics found in the stone graves, and especially those found 
in the Etovvah mound in Georgia, as proof. The Shawnees were, 
however, late-comers, belonging to the Algonkin stock, a stock 
marked by narrow skulls. They were preceded by the Musco- 
gee stock a people with broad skulls. It was a tradition among 
the Muscogees that they migrated from the west and found the 
country occupied before them, while their ancestors issued from 
a sloping hill at the command of their divinity, who stamped 
upon its summit, and erected the pole, which led them through 
their wanderings. In reference to the Gulf States Col. C. C. 
Jones, who has written a book upon the antiquity of the Southern 
Indians, says that the tribes were only occupying works which 
had been erected by a preceding and different class of people. 
" Even upon a cursory examination of the groups of mounds 
with their attendent ditches, earth walls, fish preserves, it is 
difficult to resist the impression that they are the remains of a 
people more patient of labor, and in some respects superior to 
the nomadic tribes who, within the memory ot the whites, cling 
around and devote to secondary uses these long-deserted monu 
ments." This remark was made after diligent study of the 
writings left by the historian of De Soto s expedition and of 
Adair and Bartram and comparing them with the evidence given 
by the monuments themselves. 



31 



CHAPTER III. 



THE MOUND-BUILDERS AND THE MASTODON. 

i 

One of the first questions asked of the archaeologists concern 
ing the Mound-builders is, What was their probable age? The 
question is a very natural one, but, in the form generally given, 
exhibits a misunderstanding of the general subject. It implies 
that the Mound-builders were all one people, and that they 
spread over the continent at a particular and definite time. We 
have already shown that there were many classes of Mound- 
builders, and that there were different periods of time a succes 
sion of population being one of the plainest facts brought out 
by archaeological investigation. The answer to the question is 
to be secured by the study of the Mound-builders as they ap 
peared at different dates in the mound-building period. The age 
of the Mound-builders includes not one specific date, but covers 
many epochs. 

We maintain that there was a Mound-builders age in this 
country, and that it is as distinctive as was the neolithic age in 
Europe. The neolithic age was founded on the discovery of 
a certain class of relics, relics which had a certain degree of 
polish and finish about them; the material of the relics making 
the age distinctive. The bronze age was founded on the discov 
ery of bronze relics in the midst of neolithic relics, the material 
and finish of the relics making them distinctive So the Mound- 
builders age is based on the prevalence of the earth heaps which 
contain within them the relics of a prehistoric race. The character 
of the relics as well as the material of which the works were 
composed, makes the Mound-builders age distinctive. 

I. As to the naming of these periods there is some uncertainty, 
but the following facts may help us to appreciate it. In Europe 
the. paleolithic age continued after the close of the glacial period. 
It began with the gravel beds, and embraced all the relics found 
in those beds, extended through the period of the cave-dwelling, 
embraced nearly all the cave contents; it reached up to the time 
of the kitchen middens, and embraced the relics found in the 
lower layers. It is divided into various epochs, which are named 
differently. The English named them after the animals asso 
ciated with the relics, into the epochs of the cave-bear, mammoth 
and reindeer. The French named them after the caves in which 
they were found, making the name of the caves descriptive of 
the relics. 



32 

The Chellean relics are more easily distinguished than others, 
and are recognized by some as belonging to a distinct period, 
a period when the mammoth, rhinoceros and cave-bear prevailed 
in Europe. These stand alone and belong to an earlier geolog 
ical period than the rest of the Cave-dwellers relics. A number of 
objects discovered at Moustier, at Solutre and at La Madeleine 
mark a second and a third period of the paleolithic age. 

In America the paleolithic age preceded the neolithic, as in 
Europe. It may be divided into three epochs: i. The pre-glacial, 
the epoch in which the relics were deposited in loess. 2. The 




Scale 34 feet to the inch. 
Fig. l.Elephajit J\triyi/. 

glacial, an epoch in which the relics were deposited in gravel. 
3. The Champlain, an epoch in which the relics were deposited 
upon the summit of the hills and above the glacial gravels. 

The American archaeologists name them after the character 
of the gravels in which they are found, as well as the character 
ot the relics. It may be said that the subdivision of the 
paleolithic age in America has not been fully established. There 
seems to be some uncertainty as to the French and English 
divisions. 



*Evidence is increasing to show that the paleolithic people continued after the 
glacial period, as flint relics which are chipped so as to make tools of various kinds, 
have been found in the beds of the water courses in Iowa and elsewhere. These per- 
haps should be assigned to the Champlain epoch. They were followed by the Cave- 
dwellers, who left their relics and remains in the shelter caves of Ohio, Kentucky 
and Tennessee, and other localities. Bone implements were common among this 
people, but not many metal relics. The shell heaps of Florida and Maine may have 
oelonged to the people who followed the Cave-dwellers. The people who left the flre 
beds in the bottom lands of Ohio at variouH depths. below the surface followed the 
Cave-dwellers. The Mound-builders came in about this time. They were a neolithic 
people, and were probably immigrants from some other country. Four lines of mi 
gration have been recognized among the Mound-builders: One from the northeast 
to the southwest; another from the northwest to the southeast; a third from the 
southwest to the northeast; a fourth from the southeast, north and west. 



33 

Naming the periods after the animals is suitable to America, 
though the animals would be different from those in Europe; 

In Europe the cave-bear, 
mastodon and the rein 
deer made three epochs. 
In America the megathe 
rium found in Brazil.jthe 
mastodon found in the 
gravel beds and peat 
bogs, and the buffalo, 
now almost extinct, mark 
three different epochs. In 
Europe, the paleolithic 
age was contained within 
the quartenary period, 

and came to an end before the beginning of the present geologic 
period. It was followed by the neolithic age. The character 
istic of this age was that polished stone relics, such as hatchets, 






Figs. It, 5, 6 and 7. Shell Beads from Mounds. 

celts and finely-chipped arrows, spear-heads and a fine class of 
pottery aboun ded. Another characteristic was that mounds were 
common. Shell heaps marked its beginning, chambered mounds 
its end. The bronze age followed the stone age. This began 
with the lake-dwellings and continued 
through the time of the rude stone monu 
ments, and up to the historic age. Bronze 
was the material which characterized the 
age, a material which was not made in 
Europe, but was brought from Asia and 
was re-cast. No less than fifty-seven found 
ries of bronze have been discovered in 




Fiy. 8. Bone Needles. 



France and a large number in Italy; one at Bologna having no 
less than 14,000 pieces broken and ready for casting. The hatchets 
were cast in molds, with wings for holding the handle, and many 
of them with sockets and eyes by which they could be lashed to 



*Prof. E L. Berthoud discovered a number of obsidian relics on the Upper Madison 
Fork in Idaho. He says : "I have gathered some very characiaristic obsidian im 
plements on Lake Henry and Snake River, which I transmit. I have always under 
stood that the presence of obsidian relics in Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming 
and Utah was due to the probable intercourse of the Aztec races with the more 
northern tribes. I am now satisfied that they were derived from the Yellowstone 
and Snake Rivers, rather than from New and Old Mexico. In the National Park 
Prof. Hayden found a gorge in the mouutalns which was almost entirely formed of 
volcanic glass; they have aptly named it Obsidian Canon ." Proceedings of Daven. 
port Academy, Vol. Ill, Part II. 



34 

the handle. The neolithic age in America began with the close of 
the paleolithic and ended with the historic period. The polished 
stone relics found in the auriferous gravels of California, such as 
steatite ollas, mortars and pestles, and those found under the lava 
beds, belong to this age. They constitute one class of neolithic 
relics, and may be assigned to one epoch of the neolithic age. 
We maintain that the Mound-builders in America represented 
one epoch, perhaps the earliest of the neolithic age. This age 
began some time after the glacial period and ended about the 
time of the advent of the white man, but embraced about all the 
time which the neolithic age occupied in Europe. Nearly 

all the relics found in the Mis 
sissippi Valley, such as arrow 
heads, spear-heads, knives, pol 
ished stone axes, celts, carved 
stone pipes, many specimens of 
pottery, the shell gorgets and the 
drinking vessels, the pieces of 
copper, ornamented and unorna- 
mented, the mica plates, many of 
the bone implements, the needles 
and awls, the silver ornaments, 
and the few specimens of gold* 
and meteoric iron, belong to the 
Vase. Mound-builders. Neolithic relics 

are found in the mounds; though some of them, of the ruder 
class, are found in the fire beds and shelter-caves. Specimens of 
the neolithic age are picked up indiscriminately upon the surface. 
The aborigines of America were in this age. The cliff-dwellings 
and pueblos must be assigned to this age. They constitute a 
second division, the Mound-builders being assigned to the first. 
The relics of the Cliff-dwellers are not much in advance of those 
of the Mound-builders, but their houses show an advanced stage 
of architecture. A third division of the neolithic age may be 
recognized among the civilized races of Mexico and Central 
America, though these are by some archaeologists ascribed to 
the bronze age. It appears that the division of the neolithic age 
in America corresponded to that in Europe ; the Mound-builders, 
Cliff-dwellers and the civilized races constitute the three parts 
of that age, as the barrows, the lake-dwellings and the rude stone 
monuments did in Europe. It may be that two preceding periods 
should be assigned to the caves and fire beds, which corres 
ponded to the caves and kitchen middens. f 

*Dr. Charles Ran describes a gold ornament found in a mound in Florida, repre 
senting the bill of an ivory billed woodpecker, the material of which was made dur 
ing the second period of Spanish supremacy. It was taken from the center of the 
mound, and furnishes evidence that Mound-building was continued after the occu 
pation by Europeans. Proi. Jeffries Wyman has, however, spoken of the remains <>t 
the great auk in the shell mounds of Maine and the absence of any article which 
was derived from the white man. See American Naturalist, Vol. J. 

tSome of the shelter caves and the terraces of Ohio seem to have been occupied|by 




35 



II. The part which the Mound-builders performed in connec 
tion with the neolithic age. The Mound-builders, in a technical 
sense, are to be confined to the Mississippi Valley. There are, 
to be sure, many mounds and earth-works on the northwest 
coast, others in Utah, and still others scattered among the civil 
ized races in Mexico, but the Mound-builders as such were the 
inhabitants of this valley. We shall see the extent of their 
territory if we take the mounds of the Red River Valley as one 
stream and follow the line across the different districts until we 
reach the mounds of Florida. This is the length of their terri 
tory north and south; the breadth could be indicated by the 
Allegheny mountains upon the east and the foot-hills of the 
Rocky mountains upon the we$t, for all this range of territory 




fig. 10. Hoes from Tennessee. 

belonged to the Mound-builders. Within this territory we have 
the copper mines of Lake Superior, 1 the salt mines of Illinois 
and Kentucky, 2 the garden beds of Michigan, 3 the pipe-stone 
quarries of Minnesota, 4 the extensive potteries of Missouri, 5 the 
stone graves of Illinois, 6 the work-shops, the stone cairns, the 
stone walls, the ancient roadways, and the old walled towns of 
Georgia, 7 the hut rings of Arkansas, 8 the shelter-caves of Ten 
nessee and Ohio, 9 the mica mines in South Carolina, 10 the quar 
ries in Flint Ridge in Ohio, 11 the ancient hearths ot Ohio, 12 the 
bone beds 13 and alabaster caves in Indiana, 14 the shell-heaps 
of Florida, 15 oil wells and ancient mines, and the rock inscrip 
tions 16 which are scattered over the territory everywhere. 

We ascribe all of these to the Mound-builders and conclude 
that they were worked by this people, for the relics from the 



a rude people, whose remains are buried in the debris, for layers ef ashes have been 
found having great depths. The fire beds and stone graves have been found at 
various depths beneath the river bottoms. Miami Gazette. Jan. 20, 1892. See Smith 
sonian Report, 1874. R. S. Robinson; Peabody Museum, 8th Report, F. W. Putnam. 
The Mammoth cave and other deep caves have yielded mummies and other remains 
which may have belonged to this antecedent period. Collins History of Kentucky. 

The great auk, Prof. Wyman says, survived until after the arrival of the Euro 
peans. Pottery is poorly represented; ornamentation is of the rudest kind; the 
shell heaps yielded lew articles of stone; implements of stone are common in Flor 
ida. A domesticated animal was found with eatables. 

1 See Foster s Prehistoric Races, p. 265. 2 Ibid., p. 249. 3 See American Antiquar 
ian, Vols. I and VII 4 Geol. Rep, of Minnesota, Vol. I, pp. 151 and 555. 5 See Prof. 
Swallow s article, Peabody Museum, 8th rep., and Arch, of Mo., 1880. 6 See Sm. Rep. 
1866. 7 See C. C, Jones and James Mooney s 9th An. Rep. of Eth. Bu., also Am. 
Anthro., Vol. II, p. 241. See Am. Ant., Vol. XIII No. 6., H. S. Halbert. 8 See Palmer 
in Eth. Bu., 9th An. Rep. of A. A., Vol. Ill, p. 271, in Iowa. 9 See Robinsin s article, 
Sm. Rep., 1874, p. 367; A. A., Vol. II, r p. 203. 10 See Report by James Mooney, 9th An. 
Eth. Bu. Rep.; 12th Rep. Pea. Museum. 11 SeeAmerican Antiquarian, Vol. II, p. 95. 
12 Ibid., Vol. VI, p. 101. 13 Ibid., Vol. VIII, p, 65. 14 Ibid., Vol. III. 15 Ibid., Vol. 
II, p. 257. 16 Ibid., Vol. XI, J. S. Newberry, p. 165. 



36 



mines and quarries are found in the mounds. Besides these relics 
we find others which were received by aboriginal trade ; obsidian 
knives and arrows (see Figs. 2 and 3) from Idaho; jade axes 
from an unknown source, carved specimens which seem to have 
come from Mexico; shells* and wampum (Figs. 4 to 7) from the 
gult of Mexico; specimens of art which show connection with the 
northwest coast and carved pipes which show familiarity with 
animals and birds from the central provinces. The Mound- 
builders were the chief representatives of the neolithic age, vying 
with the Cliff-dwellers in a grade of civilization, but having a 
much more varied culture than they. Their territory extended 
over more land than any other class of people known to the pre 
historic age, and their art presents more variety than any other 
class. 

The cuts represent the character of the relics taken from the 
mounds. The pottery vase (Fig. 9) is trom a mound in Michi 
gan and shows the high stage of art reached there. The hoes 

and sickles (Figs, 10 and 
i i) are from mounds in 
Tennessee and show the 
agricultural character of 
the people. The banner 
stone and silver orna 
ment (Figs. 12, 13 and 
14) are from mounds in 
Florida. A. E. Doug 
lass thinks the silver or 
nament was modern. We 
place these cuts along- 
side of the elephant pipes 
and other relics to show 
the length of the age 
of the Mound-builders. Some of them were evidently quite 
ancient and others were very modern. 

III. As to the antiquity of the Mound-builders, we may say 
that dates are always difficult to fix. We can not give them 
definitely. We imagine that the Mound-builders were the first 
people who occupied the territory after the close of the glacial 
period, that they followed hard on to the paleolithic people, that 
no other race intervened. This is, however, a matter of conjec 
ture. Our reasons for holding this are as follows: i. The 
appearance of the mastodon and mammoth. We contend that 

*W. H. Pratt has described worked shells from Calhoun County, Illinois, also shell 
beads from mounds at Albany (Figs. 4, 5 and 6), and wampum from mounds in 
Florida (Fig. 7), which he thinks were used as currency, giving the idea that wam 
pum existed in the Mound-builders time; others think wampum was introduced by 
the white man. The value of the beads was owing more to the work placed upon 
them than to the rarity of the shells. Copper beads found in the mounds at Daven 
port contained the cord upon which they were strung. This would indicate that the 
beads were somewhat recent. 




Fig. 11. Sickles from Tennessee. 



37 





these animals and the Mound-builders were contemporaneous. 
The only age which intervened between the glacial period and 
the Mound-builder s period is to be called the mastodon s age. 
We are ready to acknowledge that a long time must have elapsed 
between the glacial age and the Mound-builders, but in the ab 
sence of proof that any other inhabitants occupied the territory 
we ascribe the time or period to the mastodon and mammoth. 
The paleolithic people may indeed have survived the glacial 
period and been also contemporaneous with the mastodon, the 
real age of the mammoth and mastodon covering the whole of 
the paleolithic age and overlapping the Mound-builders, the 
first being the age in which 
tne mastodon was numerous. 
Certain writers have denied 
this, and have argued that so 
long an interval of time elapsed 
between the Mound-builders 
and the close of the glacial age 
that the mastodon disappeared 
altogether, that the buffalo 
was the animal which was 
distinctive of the Mound- 
builder s age, and the masto 
don was the animal distinctive 
of the paleolithic age. Their 
arguments are as follows: The 
forests which have spread over 
the northern half of the 
Mound-builders territory are 
in places very dense. During 
the glacial period this region 
was covered by a sea of ice, the Fig 12 - 
ground must needs settle and be covered with alluvial before the 
forests would grow. The forests could only gradually appear, the 
distribution of seeds and the springing up of the saplings being 
a slow process. Another argument is taken from analogy. In 
Europe the period of the gravel beds was supposed to be the 
same as the glacial period and marked the beginning of the pale 
olithic age. There were, however, between the gravel beds and 
the age of the barrows three or four different epochs the cave- 
dwellers, the people of the kitchen middens and the lake-dwellers 
the progress having been gradual between the periods.* In 




*Col. Whitllesey speak of three periods: The early drift period which belonged to 
primitive man; the period of the Mound-builders, whose antipuity is from four to 
five thousand years, with slight evidence of an intervening race between the Mound- 
builders and primitive man; and the period of the red man. The evidence of man 
more ancient than the Mound-builders he finds in the fluviatile deposits, which were 
above the fire beds on the Ohio river, to the depth of twelve or fifteen feet. The same 
evidence is given by Prof. Putnam. Article read before the American Association in 
Chicago, 1868. 



38 




America the change was more sudden, for the tokens which are 
found in the auriferous gravels are much more advanced than 
any found in the gravel beds of Europe. 
They correspond to the relics of the lake- 
dwellers and the barrows. The Mound- 
builders relics are also much more advanced 
than those of the gravel beds in the same 
territory, and the supposition is that there 
must have been either an intervening period 
in which mound-building was not prac 
ticed, or that there was an immigration of 
the Mound-builders into this territory from 
some other part. We acknowledge that 
there are some facts which favor this sup 
position or idea that there were inhabitants 
intervening between the rude paleolithic 
people and advanced Mound-builders who- 
corresponded to the people of the kitchen 
middens and to the early lake-dwellers. 

Fig. IS.-Silver Ornament* p ossibly we shall find that the fire beds of the 

interior and the kitchen middens of the sea coast were deposited 
during this period, and the divisions of time may be identified by 
these tokens. We maintain that the close of 
the glacial period was not so sudden as 
some imagine. There may have been a 
littoral class of fishermen who were the 
occupants before the close of this period. 
They followed aftertheiceas it disappeared, 
leaving their shell heaps on the coast and 
their fire beds in the interior. In favor of 
this we may mention the fact that the tooth J 
of a polar bear and the bones of the auk, B 
both of which are animals that occupy the 
arctic regions and inhabit the ice fields, 
have been found in a shell heap on the \ 
coast of Maine, thus proving that there ^ 
were inhabitants when the ice reached as \ 
far south as that point. The mastodon evi 
dently inhabited the country long before the 
glacial period. It survived that period and Fig H-**" ornament. 
may have existed during the time the land was becoming settled 




*Mr. Geo. F. Kunz has described a gold object resembling a shield, taken from a 
mound in Florida, an ear disc of silver, a triangular silver ornament, a flat bar of 
silver, all taken from mounds in Florida, Mr. Douglas has spoken ol circular plates 
from Halifax river- Col. C. C. Jones of silver beads, not European, from Etowah val 
ley. Mr. Douglas thinks that the silver specimens were taken from wrecked, vessels 
after the discovery, and reters to a specimen found on an island near Florida, which 
has the marks of modern wormanshlp upon it. The etchings of the cross orbis 
mundi and the heart may be attributed to the Spanish priests, though the moons on 
the opposite side were native symbols. He says that the four ornaments described 
by Mr. Kunz were associated with European manufacture. See American Antiquar 
ian, Vol. IX, page 219. 



39 

and until it was covered with forests and became inhabited by 
wild tribes. During this time the peat beds and the swamps 
were their favorite resorts; many of them became mired in the 
swamps and were attacked by the natives. These natives were 
acquainted with fire, and used rude stone implements arrows 
and spear heads. As the mastodon retreated northward the 
hunters also migrated and became the denizens of the forests of 
the northern districts. This accounts for the scarcity of images 
of the elephant and mastodon among the southern Mound- 
builders, and for the images of the same animals among the 
northern Mound-builders. 

"" We have mentioned the find of Dr. Koch of the mastodon in 
the Gasconade swamp of Missouri. This was an important find. 
Dr. Koch says there were remains of fire-stones and arrow-heads 
near the bones, showing that the animal had been hunted by the 




Fig. 15. Nondescript Animal from the Mounds * 

people then living. Dr. Koch made the statement that this 
animal was capable of feeding itself with its fore-feet, after the 
manner of the beaver or otter. This statement was doubted at 
the time, and seemed to cast discredit upon the entire find. It 
now proves very important. In a late number of the Scientific 
American is a description of the Newberg mastodon, in which 
this very peculiarity is noticed .f The writer says: " The most 
important comparison is in the aspect of the fore-limbs. In the 
elephant the fore-limbs are columnar, as are the hind-limbs. In 
the mastodon there is a decided aspect, more or less, of prehen 
sile capacity (as it were), that is, the latter have the fore-feet 
approaching the plantigrade in aspect, and were correspondingly 
adapted for pronation. Of course this is slight, but it shows the 
difference in probable habits. The fore-limbs of the mastodon 
with such development, we should expect, would be able to be 
thrown over the low foliage or brush-wood, and a crushing 
effected by the somewhat expanded manus. No such movement 
could be effected by elephas. As much as we naturally compare 



*The animal contained in the cut, with a bill resembling a duck, was found by 
a farmer while plowing over Mound No 3. It is a natural sandstone concretion 
fastened upon a thin piece of light-brown flint. The eyes are of quartz, fastened on 
with some kind of cement. They give a fierce look to the creature. 

fSee Scientific American, January, 1892, article by Dr. J. B. Holden. 



40 



the two great creatures, and especially as both have similar nasal 
development, a near view of both together shows many differ 
ences in form.." 

2. The survival of the mastodon. J. B. Holden says: "In nearly 
every State west of New England portions of this creature have 
been disinterred. And every year there are several found, more 
or less in a state of complete preservation. The circumstance 
of several skeletons having about them evidence of man s work 
is extremely interesting.* On one account, it brings the date, 

though greatly indefinite, to man s exist 
ence. We are therefore able to say man 
and mastodon are contemporaneous. We 
have not determined what sort of man 
made those stone arrow-heads which 
struck the life out from the great carcasses 
and lie among their remains. We have 
not a knowledge of what sort of man 
made the charcoal which was found lying 
among the partly burned bones of a 
mastodon, but we do know that some 
man made the arrow-heads. And we 
know also that no other than man is 
capable of making charcoal, or even to 
make fire by which it is formed." 

Prof. Barton, of the University of Penn 
sylvania, discovered the bones of a mas 
todon at a depth of six feet, and in the 
stomach of the animal he feund a mass 
of vegetable matter, composed of leaves 
and branches, among which was a rush, 

now common in Virginia. Winchell says: "The ancient lakelets 
of Michigan enclose numerous remains of the mastodon and 
mammoth, but they are sometimes so near the surface that one 
could believe them to have been buried within 500 years. The 
mastodon found near Tecumseh lay but two feet and a half be 
neath the surface. The Adrian mastodon was buried about three 
feet. The Newberg (New York) mastodon just beneath the soil 
in a small pool of water." 

Prof. Samuel Lockwood, of Freehold, New Jersey, has spoken 
of the life range of the mastodon. He has shown that this ani 
mal was living at a period well up into the recent geologic time. 
It came in with the great extinct fossil-beaver, which it outlived, 
and became contemporary with the modern beaver. It lived to 
be contemporary with the American aboriginal men and probably 
melted away before the presence of man. Prof. Lockwood dis- 




*The two pipes which have been found and which are now in the Davenport Acad 
emy, may leprost iit th<- two classes of animals; the one Mastodon Giganteus, the 
Elephas Prlmlgenlui, it so, they are all valuable finds. 



41 

covered a mastodon in a beat bog, near by a fossil-beaver dam, in 
such circumstances as led him to suspect that the mastodon had 
been actually buried by the beavers.* 

Prof. Shaler says: "Almost any swampy bit of ground in 
Ohio or Kentucky contains traces of the mammoth or mastodon. 
The fragments of wood which one finds beneath their bones 
seem to be of the common species of existing trees, and the 
reeds and other swamp-plants which are embedded with their 
remains are apparently the same as those which now spring in 
the soil. They fed upon a vegetation not materially different 
from that now existing in the region. f Prof. Hall says: "Of 
the very recent existence of this animal there seems to be no 
doubt. The marl beds and muck swamps, where these remains 
occur, are the most recent of all superficial accumulations. 




Fig. 17. Elephant Pipe, found in a Corn-field. 

Dr. John Collet says that in the summer of 1880 an almost 
complete skeleton of a mastodon was found in Iroquois County, 
Illinois, which goes far to settle definitely that it was a recent 
animal and fed upon the vegetation which prevails to-day. The 
tusks were nine feet long, twenty-two inches in circumference, 
and weighed 175 pounds; the lower jaw was nearly fifteen feet 
long; the teeth weighed four or five pounds; each of the leg 
bones measured five feet and a half, indicating that the animal 
was eleven feet high. On inspecting the remains closely, a mass 
of fibrous matter was found filling the place of the animal s stom 
ach, which proved to be a crushed mass of herbs and grasses 
similar to those which still grow in the vicinity. A skeleton 
was found by excavating the canal, embedded in the peat, near 
Covington, Fountain County. Indiana. When the larger bones 
were split open the marrow was utilized by the bog-cutters to 
grease their boots. Chunks of sperm-like substance occupied 
the place of the kidney fat of the monster.J 



*See Proceedings A. A. A. A., 31st meeting, Montreal, 1882, Part II, p. 265. 

tSee Amer. Nat., pp. 605-7. Also, Epoch of the Mammoth, by J. U. Southall, p. 103 

JSee Geological Report of Indiana. 1880, p. 384. 



42 

These discoveries convince us that the mastodon survived the 
glacial period, and may have been contemporaneous with the 
Mound-builders. 

IV. Were the Mound-builders contemporaneous with the 
mastodon? This is a disputed point, and considerable feeling 
has been raised in the contention. There have been reports of 
the images of the mastodon and mammoth; but the genuineness 
of the finds has been disputed, and is still with some a matter of 
doubt. Were we to discriminate between these, however, accept 
ing some as genuine, others as doubtful, we might reach a safe 
conclusion. The history of these discoveries is about as follows: 
In 1874. Mr. Jared Warner found upon the bottom-land of the 
Mississippi, near Wyalusing, an effigy which was called an ele 
phant. He, in company with a number of gentlemen, measured 
and platted it, and sent a drawing of it to the Smithsonian Insti 
tute.* Mr. Warner says : " It has been known here for the last 




SECTION OF MOUND. A, first grave: B, second grave; a, limestone one foot below 
the surface; b, human remains, probably Indians; c, upper shell bed; d, lower shell 
bed; e, cavity on north side of grave A; /, position of tablets. 

Fig. IS. Section of Mound. 

twenty-five years as the elephant mound." "The head is large, 
and the proportion of the whole so symmetrical that the mound 
well deserves the name. The mound was in a shallow valley 
between two sandy ridges, and was only about eight feet above 
high water." There are many mounds in this section of country 
in the shape of birds, bears, deer and foxes. We would say that 
the effigy of the bear, which is very common here, and which 
was the totem of the clan formerly dwelling here, has exactly 
the same shape as the so-called elephant, but is not so large and 
lacks the proboscis. The projection at the nose called the pro 
boscis is not really one, but is the result of the washing of the soil. 
It was a mere prolongation of the head, had no curve, did not 
even reach so far as the feet, and can be called a proboscis only 
by a stretch of imagination. There is no evidence whatever 
>that it was intended to represent a proboscis. The size of this 
mastodon is as follows: length 135 feet, from hind-feet to back 
sixty feet, from fore-feet to back sixty-six feet, from end of snout 



*The report was published in 1875. The gentlemen who accompanied Mr. Warner 
were Mr. J. C. Urr and Mr. J. C. Scott. 



43 

to neck or throat thirty-one feet, from end of snout to fore-legs 
thirty-nine feet, between fore-legs and hind-legs fifty-one feet, 
across the body thirty-six feet. These measurements make the 
proboscis and snout combined about the same length as the fore 
legs ; the proboscis alone about half the length of the fore-legs ; 
whereas, had it been a genuine imitation it should have been 
nearly double the length. The writer has visited the effigy two 
or three times, but found it more and more obliterated. No 
other effigy of the elephant could be discovered in the vicinity, 
and no other has since been discovered. Compare Figs, i and 17. 




PLAN OF MOUND. A, first grave; B, second grave; a, cavity on north side ol grave 
A; b. layer of stones at edge of shell bed; c, loam between the graves; d, skeletons In 
first grave; e, skeletons in second grave; /, position of tablet. 

Fig. 19 Plan of Mound. 

The history of the second discovery is about as follows . In 
the year 1874, the Rev. Mr. Gass was engaged in exploring 
mounds. He came upon a group of mounds situated about a 
mile below the city of Davenport (see map), on the bank of 
the Mississippi river, about 250 feet from it and from eight to 
twelve feet above low water mark, which consisted of ten or 
twelve mounds. Several of these were excavated, and found to 
contain a large number of relics, such as sea shells, copper axes, 
pipes, hemispheres of copper, arrow heads, pieces of galena, 
pieces of pottery, pieces of mica, stone knives, copper imple 
ments shaped like a spool, rondells, showing that trepaning had 
been practiced. Many of the axes had been wrapped with coarse 
cloth, which had been preserved by the copper Fig. 16. The 
pipes were all of Mound-builders pattern; some of them were 
carved with effigies of birds and animals. One bird has eyes of 
copper, another has eyes of pearl, showing much delicacy of 
manipulation and skill in carving. These relics excited much 
interest and were put on exhibition before the American Associa 
tion for the Advancement of Science, at Detroit, in 1875. About 



44 

twenty copper pipes were reported at that time, and eleven cop 
per awls and a large number of bones. They were said to have 
been found at various depths, some of them near skeletons, some 
near altars, some in ashes, though they were all from the same 
group on the Cook farm. The mounds on the Cook farm were 
the most of them stratified. All of them contained bodies and 
ashes; two or three of them contained altars or round heaps of 
stone, but with no relics upon the altars. Mound No. 3 was the 
one in which the tablets were discovered. This was a low mound, 
about three feet high and sixty feet in diameter. It was a double 
mound and contained two graves parallel to each other, three or 
four xeet apart, six feet wide and nine or ten leet long. 

In making the excavation of the first grave the party found, 
near the surface, two human skeletons, which were modern In 
dians, and with them modern relics; such as fire steel, a common 
clay pipe, a number of glass beads, a silver earring. Below these 
was a layer of river shells and a large quantity of ashes, which 



fj a -i- 1 7- o 



Fig. SO. Hieroglyphics on Tablets.* 

extended two feet below the surface, but which rested upon a 
stratum of earth twelve inches in depth, under which was a second 
bed of shells. At the depth of two feet below the second shell 
bed, 55^ feet below the summit, three skeletons were discovered, 
lying in a horizontal position at the bottom. With the skeletons 
were five copper axes, all of which had been wrapped in cloth, 
a number of small red stones, arranged in the form of a star, two 
carved stone pipes, several bear s teeth, two pieces of galena, one 
large broken pot, a lump of yellow ochre, one arrow-head. A 
child s skeleton was discovered between the two large ones, near 
which was a large number of copper beads. 

The second grave was not opened until the year 1877, about 
two years after the first. Mr. Gass was attended by a party of 
seven men, two of whom were students. They found, near the 
surface, modern relics a few glass beads and fragments of a 
brass ring; also a layer of shells twelve or fifteen inches thick; 
beneath this a second layer five or six inches thick; beneath the 
second layer a stratum of loose black soil or vegetable mould, 
eighteen or twenty inches thick, and in the mould fragments of 
human bones. At the bottom they discovered the two inscribed 
tablets, lying close together on the hard clay, five and one-half 

*The word TOWN will be recognized in the cut, which represents the charac 
ters on the left side of the upper arch in their regular order. The first to call atten 
tion to this word was Dr. Farquharson, the President of this Association, though at 
the time he thought that the finding the letters was a pure fancy. The word has 
often boon noticed in the tablet, and has always worked against its genuineness. It 
has been intimated that the Mormons planted these tablets. The recent find at 
Mendon, Illinois, of a brass plate or sounding board of a musical instrument, with 
similar characters, near a house once occupied by Mormons confirms this conjecture 



45 

feet below the surface of the mound; both were encircled by a 
single row of lime stones. About two and one-half feet east 
were a copper axe, a few copper beads, fragments of pottery, a 
piece of mica and a number of bones. These were found at a 
subsequent exploration, not at the same time as the tablets. 

The large tablet is twelve inches long, from eight to ten inche 
wide, and was made of dark coal slate. Fig. 22. The smaller 
tablet was about square, seven inches in length, and had holes 
bored in the upper corners, and is called the calendar stone, as 
it contained twelve signs with three concentric circles, though 
the signs do not in the least resemble the Mexican or Maya cal 
endars. The larger tablet contained a picture on either side, one 
representing a cremation scene, the other a hunting scene. The 
cremation scene "suggests human sacrifices." A number of 
bodies are represented as lying upon the back, and the fire is 
burning upon the summit of the mound, while the so-called 
Mound-builders are gathered in a ring around the mound. Above 




fig. 21. Characters Duplicated on the Sandstone Tablet. 

the cremation scene is an arch formed by three crescent lines, 
representing the horizon, and in the crescent and above it are 
hieroglyphics, some of which resemble the common figures and 
numbers, and the various letters of the alphabet; there are ninty- 
eight figures, twenty-four in one, twenty in the other, and fifty- 
four above the lines. The peculiar features of this picture 
are these : A rude class of Mound-builders are practicing hu 
man sacrifice, while the images of the sun and moon are both in 
the sky, one containing a face, the other circles and rays. Above 
these is the arch of the heavens, with Roman numerals and 
Arabic figures scattered through and above it. The figure eight 
is repeated three times, the letter O repeated seven times. With 
these familiar characters are ethers which resemble letters of 
ancient alphabets, either Phoenician or Hebrew, and only a few 
characters such as the natives generally used. 

The hunting scene is the one which is supposed to contain the 
mastodon. In this picture there is a large tree which occupies 
the foreground, beneath the tree are animals, human beings and 
fishes scattered indiscriminately about, a few skeletons of trees 
in the back ground. One of the human figures has a hat on, 
which resembles a modern hat, for it has a rim. "Of the animal 
kingdom thirty individuals are represented, divided as follows, 
viz: Man, eight: bison, four; deer, four; birds, three; hares, 




46 

three; big horn or Rocky Mountain goat, one; fish, one; prai 
rie wolf, one; nondescript animals, three. Of these latter one 
defies recognition, but the other two, apparently of the same 
species, are the most interesting figures of the whole group. 
These animals are supposed by different critics to represent the 
moose, tapers or mastodons." The trunk and tusks are omitted 
from this animal, and even the shape hardly resembles the ele 
phant, certainly not enough to prove that the Mound-builders 
were contemporaneous with the mastodon.* 

The third discovery is the one the most relied upon. This 
discovery was also made by the Rev. Mr. Gass, in the spring 
of 1880, several years after the discovery of the tablets. Mr. 
Gass was accompanied by Rev. Mr. Blcomer. A group of ten 
mounds, arranged in irregular rows, was situated along the bluffs 
overlooking the Mississippi bottoms west of Muscatine Slough. 
The first mound opened proved to be a sacrificial or cremation 
mound, situated on the extreme edge of a prominent bluff, having 
ravines on both sides. It was a flat cone, thirty feet in diameter, 
elevation three feet. Near the surface was a layer of hard clay, 
eighteen inches thick; below this a layer of burned red clay, as 
hard as brick, one foot thick; under this a bed of ashes, thirteen 
inches deep. In the ashes were found a portion of a carved 
stone pipe, bird form, by Mr. H. Haas; a very small copper axe 
by Mr. Gass ; a carved stone pipe, entire, representing an ele 
phant, which, Mr, Bloomer says, "was first discovered by myself." 
The other mounds of the group were explored, and contained 
ashes and bones, but no relics. Mr. Gass makes no report of 
finding the elephant pipe, but leaves that to Mr. Bloomer. During 
the same year he discovered, in the mounds in Mercer County, 
Illinois, several Mound-builders pipes one representing a lizard, 
one a turtle, another a snake coiled around an upright cylinder 
and covered with some very thin metallic coating. Mounds on 
the Illlinois side, near Moline, and Copper Creek and Pine Creek, 
had previously yielded to Mr. Gass carved stone pipes, one of 
them representing a porcupine, anothera howling wolf. The pipes 
were composed of some dark-colored slate or variety of talc, 
thus showing that the Mound-builders of the region were in the 
habit of imitating the animals which they saw, making effigies 
of them on their pipes. The account of finding this elephant is 
written in a very straightforward manner ; nothing about it shows 
any intention to deceive. 

*Another tablet was found by Mr. Charles Harrison in 1878, who is president of the 
society, in mound No. 11 of the some group. In the mound was a pile of stones two 
and one-half by three feet in size, which might be called an altar, about three feet 
below the surface; the slab fourteen inches square, and beneath the slab was a vault, 
and in the vault was the tablet, with four flint arrows on the tablet; a shell and a 
quartz crystal. The figures on this tablet were a circle which represented the sun, a 
it representing the moon, and a human figure astride the circle, colored 
bright ochre red, all of them very rudely drawn. The fljrure is supposed to represent 
the sun god. The figure eight and other hiooglyphics are upon this tablet. Above 
the hieroglyphics was a bird and an animal, and between them a copper axe. This 
tablet is as curious us the one discovered by Mr. Gass. 



47 




The fourth discovery consisted of a carved stone pipe, also in 
the shape of an elephant or mastodon. This pipe was picked up 
in a cornfield by a German farmer named Mare, who gave it away 
and afterwards moved to Kansas. The pipe came into the hands 
of the Rev. Mr. Gass, was purchased by the Davenport Academy 
and is now in their museum. Both pipes have the general 

_____ Mound-builder 

shape, a curved 
base. Both pipes 
are alike in that 
they represent the 
animal with a pro 
boscis, but with no 
tusks. The reason 
for this may have 
been that it was 
difficult to carve the 
tusks out of stone; 
if they had been so 
carved they were li 
able to break. They 

Fig. 22, Map of the Mounds on the Cook Farm. are alike also in 

representing the eye and ear, mouth, tail, legs and feet of the 
animal in a very natural way. The main difference between them 
is that one has the trunk stretched out in front, and the back 
curved upward, and a heavy body. The other represents the 
proboscis curved inward, toward the legs; the back is straight 
and the body slim. Both have the bowl of the pipe between 
the fore-legs, which are brought out in relief from the cylinder 
on the sides of the bowl; the 
hole for smoking is at the 
rear of the animal. The pipes 
show much more familiarity 

with the mastodon than do HHHPtt293ll 

the effigies. They represent M^FflBBI 

the trunk as nearly twice as 
long as the fore-legs. These 
pipes have been discredited by certain writers, especially by Mr. 
W. H. Henshaw, of the Ethnological Bureau, but they have been 
defended by Mr. Charles Putnam, the president of the Davenport 
Academy, and are endorsed by the members of the Academy at 
the present time.* In favor of the genuineness of the pipes, we 

*The evidence in their favor is certainly as reliable as that which has reference to 
the rude stone relics which have been described in Wright s Ice Age. Several per 
sons were engaged in exploring and giving testimony in reference to the find. In the 
case of the stone relics taken from the railroad cut, we have the testimony of only 
one man who was exploring . Mr. H T. Cresson s testimony is taken, while in this 
case the testimony of several men seems to be doubted. See "Ice Age," by F. G. 
"Wright. See Discussion of H. T. Cresson s Pile-dwellings, American Antiquarian, 
Vol. XII, page 184. Discussion over elephant pipes by Mr. W. H. Henshaw. Report 
of Ethnological Bureau, second [annual report, 1880-81. Davenport Academy report 
Vol. IV, page 256, article by Chas. E. Putnam. 




Fig. 23 A Itar Containing Sandstone Tablet. 



48 



may say that during the same year of the discovery of the ele 
phant pipe, the bones and tusks of an elephant were found in 
Washington County, la., and were reported in the Proceedings 
of the Davenport Academy. These bones were about six feet 
below the surface, in the black mud sediment and vegetable 

mould. They seem to have 
been quite a recent deposit, 
and the elephant or masto 
don which was buried here 
may have been the very one 
which was represented in 
the pipe. 

In this connection we 
would speak of the loca 
tion of the mounds which 
contain the pipes and the 
tablets, It is the general 
opinion that those mounds 

. ti Davenport Tablet. which were erected on the 

upper terraces were the older, that those upon the lowland were 
the later. Some writers have maintained that the first class were 
erected when the water rilled the entire valleys and covered the 
first terrace. If that were the case, then the earlier Mound- 
builders must have been acquainted with the mastodon and other 
animals of that class. The mound which contained the elephant 
pipe was situated upon the bluffs far above the plain. This is 
significant. It may be that the elephant pipe was deposited in 
this mound on the bluff at a time when Muscatine Slough and 
Meredosia Slough were lakes, whose waters flowed near the bluffs 
a time when the mastodon was common. 




AffCOBfl Wfl&.EK, 

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP. ROSS COUNTY. 




VILLAGE ENCLOSURE ON THE SCIOTO. 



49 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE MOUND-BUILDERS AND THE INDIANS. 

We now come to the question of the relation of the Mound- 
builders to the modern Indians. There has been a great difference 
of opinion on this subject, but it would seem as if archaeologists 
were coming nearer to one another and agreeing that the Indians 
at one time built mounds, but most of them acknowledging that 
there was a difference between the two classes. 

I. The appearance of the buffalo within the bounds of the 
Mound-builders territory is the first point which we are to con 
sider. The buffalo seems to have extended its range beyond 
the Mississippi River. The nomadic savages had a habit of 
setting fire to the prairies. The flame swept into the eastern 
forests, bringing the open prairie into the midst of the Mound- 
builders works, and reaching almost to the Ohio and the Alle 
gheny Rivers. The hunters followed the buffalo to the eastern 
ranges. This will account for the disappearance of the Mound- 
builders. Still, we are to bear in mind that the earlier Mound- 
builders, those who dwelt 
in the fortified villages and 
who were the sun worship 
ers, were not acquainted 
with the buffalo; at least 
they had no buffalo pipes. 
There was, however, a race 
of mound-building Indians 
subsequent to them, who 
were hunters and effigy- 
builders, and were acquaint 
ed with the buffalo, Our 
proof of this is as follows: Fig 1 ~ 

I. The effigies of the buffalo are found in Wisconsin. This will 
be seen from reference to the cut See Fig. I. The effigy of the 
buffalo has been seen in many places at Beloit, Madison, and 
at Green Lake. Inscriptions of the buffalo are found in the 
picture cave at West Salem. 2. Shoulder bones of the buffalo, 
according to Squier and Davis, were found in Ohio, but at the 
summit of the mound and associated with modern Indian relics. 
3. The bones of the buffalo, according to M/. McAdams, were 
found in the depths of the pyramid mounds not far from Alton, 
Illinois. 4. The bones of the buffalo were found among the ash 




50 

heaps near Madisonville, Ohio. 5. Effigies of the buffalo, ac 
cording to T. H. Lewis, have been recognized in the standing 
stones of Dakota.* 6. Traditions of the buffalo were prevalent 
among the Chickasaws and the Choctaws of the Gulf States. 
Traditions of an animal with an arm extending from the fore- 
shoulder, according to Charlevoix, were prevalent among the 
Indians of Canada. These discoveries and traditions are im 
portant, for they show that the mastodon and buffalo were con 
temporaneous with the Mound-builders, though the mastodon 
may have been known to one class and the buffalo to another. 
It is very uncertain just how early these Mound-builders lived. 
There are some indications that they were quite ancient. 7. When 
Ferdinand De Soto and his party landed in Florida they were 
surprised by the sight of the horns and head cf a buffalo, an 
animal they had never seen before. This was in the hands of 
the Florida Indians. They afterwards became familiar with the 
buffalo robes or skins used by the Southern Indians. It appears, 
then, that at least 350 years ago the buffalo was known as far 
east as Florida. 8. According to Marquette, the buffalo roamed 
as far east as the prairies of Illinois in the year 1680, but we can 
not fix upon the date when the buffalo effigies were erected. 
Buffalo bones were found at the bottom of the mounds on the 
Great American bottom, south of the locality where the masto 
don pipes were discovered. This would indicate that the buffalo 
and mastodon were contemporaneous and that the Mound-builders 
were acquainted with both animals, and that the Mound-builders 
age extended from the time of the mastodon to that of the buffalo. 
II. We would next refer to the evidence as to the succession of 
races. The works on the North Fork of Paint Creek, on the 
Hopewell farm, illustrate this. Here is a group of mounds, 
which has been explored by Warren K. Moorehead, under the 
auspices of the World s Fair. Some remarkable relics have been 
taken out. One mound was very large, 500 feet long, 190 feet 
broad, 24 feet high. Near the top of this mound were stone 
effigies, resembling those in Dakota. At the bottom of the 
mound were a number of skeletons, lying upon the base line. 
The ground had been burned hard, and the earth above this was 
interstratified with sand and gravel. The skeletons were found 
in dome-shaped cavities, four or five feet in height. One skeleton 
was called the king ; there were wooden horns at his head, in 
imitation of antlers; thin sheets of copper covered the wood. 

*The standing stones and the bone paths may have been the work of the Dakota 
Indians. Mr. McAdams has placed a plaster cast of a buffalo pipe in the museum at 
Springfield, 111. It is uncertain whether the cast is of a genuine pipe. If so, it would 
prove that the pipe-makers with both animals, the mastodon and the buffalo. Bee 
Discovery of Mastodon Bones, American Antiquarian, Vol. I, p. 54. First Discovery 
of Pipe, Ibid., Vol. II, p. 68 Inscriptions in Cave, Ibid., Vol. V I , p. 16 and 122. Bone 
Paths, Ibid., Vol. VIII, p. 153. Animals Known, Ibid., Vol. IX, pp. 153 and 57. See 
Emblematic Mounds, pp. 274, 9, 163, 217. The following are the localities: Beloit, Rock 
County; Blue Mounds, Grant County; Butler s Quarries, Green Lake County; Buffa 
lo Lake, Adams County; Prairie du Chien, Crawford County; Madison, Dane Co. 



51 

The horns were attached to a helmet-shaped head-dress or mask, 
which reached from the upper jaw to the occupit ot the skull. 
Pearl beads, shell beads, bear teeth, bear and eagle claws, copper 
spools, copper discs, covered the chest and abdomen. A large 
platform pipe, an agate spear-head, four copper plates, canes 
from the south covered with copper were at the sides and back. 
In the same mound were several skeletons, covered with a 
large quantity of copper, and adorned with most intricate and 
beautiful designs. These are classified into anklets, bracelets 
and wristlets, and ornaments for various parts of the body. The 
bracelets were solid throughout, and formed by bending a 
tapering bar of copper into a circle. There were four circular 




Fig. 9. Works at Hopeton. 

discs, joined in pairs by a thick stem of copper, and four other 
discs, joined by pivots, and richly ornamented with repousse 
work. There were thin plates, cut in the form of fishes; others 
into diamond forms, with geometrical figures inside the rings. 
Most curious of the whole collection are two pieces of copper 
representing the Suastika, the only one that has been found 
north of the Ohio River. Beside these, was a flat piece of copper 
that had thin pieces of cane inside, evidently intended to be worn 
on the wrist as a protection from the bow. Many of the pieces 
have attached to them a curious texture, resembling matting, made 
out of wood fibre; while several were plated with silver, gold 
and meteoric iron. One piece was evidently a cap for the crown 
of the head, and had an aperture through which the scalp-lock 
could protrude, or to which feathers could be attached. There 
were also with them pieces representing birds and animals, and 



52 

others, curiously pronged, which were evidently used for combs. 
The five skeletons were also found lying side by side, two of 
which were covered with a layer of copper, six by eight feet. 
The copper had been worked into many forms. There were 
sixty-six copper belts, ranging in size from one and one half 
inches to twenty-two and one half inches in length. A large 
thick copper ax weighed forty-one pounds. This exceeds any 
specimen ever found in the United States. There were traces of 
gold on it. The cutting edge is seven inches broad and is very 
sharp. A number of smaller copper axes attended this. Thirty 
copper plates, with Mound-builders cloth on them, overlapped 
the axes. The average size of the plates was ten by six inches. 
A great copper eagle, twenty inches in diameter, wings out 
spread, beak open, tail and wing feathers neatly stamped upon 
the copper surface, etc., covered the knees of one of the skele 
tons. This is one of the most artistic designs ever found in cop 
per. Remains of a copper stool, about a foot in length and several 
inches in height, lay near one of the skeletons. The stool was 
made out of wood, and had been covered with sheet copper. 

Here, then, we have the late tribes in their rudeness, but 
preceding these tribes we find a certain barbaric magnificence 
that might be compared to that of the early in habitants of Great 
Britain, the symbols of sun-worship wrought into copper and 
placed upon the bodies. We have no doubt that the persons 
who were buried here, and who carried such massive axes and 
wore such heavy helmets and elaborate coats of mail, were an 
cient sun-worshipers, differing entirely from the later Indians. 

The evidence of a succession of races is given elsewhere. 
The writer has explored the mounds scattered along the Mis 
sissippi River from the state line on the north to Alton on the 
south, and has found several classes of works in this district. 
They are as follows: I. In the north, the effigies of Wisconsin 
passed over the borders, making one class. 2. Below these 
aie the burial mounds at Albany, Moline and Rock Island, which 
were explored by the members of the Davenport Academy. 
These were mainly unstratified, some of which contained relics, 
such as carved pipes, red ochre, lumps of galena, sheets of mica 
and fragments of pottery. 3. Farther south, near Quincy, the 
Mound-builders buried their dead without depositing relics. The 
mounds are not stratified; neither do they contain relics. 4. The 
fourth class is that which has been very frequently described, 
consisting of the pyramids, of which Cahokia is a good speci 
men. 5. The fifth class is that marked by the stone graves. 
These extend from the mouth of the Illinois River to the state 
line at Cairo. What is remarkable about the Illinois mounds is 
that in every locality there seems to have been a large number 
of tribes, some of which were earlier and some later. 

The relics which are in the Davenport Academy are for the 



53 



most part from the Iowa side, and are unlike the majority of 
those from the Illinois side, though there are localities in Illinois 
where similar relics are discovered. The contrast between the 
mounds at Davenport and others is seen in the cut Fig. 3 The 
lower part represents a mound in Illinois, the upper a mound in 
Iowa. These mounds are stratified, have layers of stones at 
intervals, the altars are pillars or piles of stones and have the 
bodies by the side. No such altars are found in any other mounds. 
The symbolism, however, is similar to that found in Ohio. It 
was the symbolism of the sun-worshipers, and it contained the 
crescent and circle. Fig. 3, 
No. 9. This shows that the 
Davenport Mound -builders 
should be classed with the 
sun-worshipers of Ohio, that 
the pipe-makers of this re 
gion were the same people as 
the pipe-makers of that State, 
and were older than the other 
Mound-builders. 

III. The difference appar 
ent in the antiquity of the 
mounds is the chief evidence. 
It was noticed by Messrs. 
Squier and Davis that many 
of the earth-works when first 
discovered were dilapidated, 
especially those upon the sum 
mits of the hills and the banks 
of the rivers. The streams 
had encroached upon the ter 
races and had broken down 
the walls of the villages. In 
one case, at the crossings of 
Paint Creek, the stream had 
overflowed the terrace and 




Fig. 3. Stratified Mounds near Davenport. 



had made a passage-way for itself through a village enclosure, 
leaving part of the wall upon one side and part on the other. In 
another case the large circle had been encroached upon, and the 
terrace near which, at one time, was the bed of Paint Creek was 
broken down, leaving the wall of the enclosure ; but the creek 
now runs more than a mile away. See Fig. 4. The same is 
true of the circle upon the North Fork. See Fig. 5. The en 
closure near Dayton also illustrates this. This was situated in 
the valley of the Miami on land which is even now at times over 
flowed. It was overlooked by the great mound at Miamisburg 
and had evidently been occupied. Some maintain that the 
works had never been finished, but their condition is owing to 



54 



the wear of the stream. The works at Portsmouth had suffered 
the same destruction. The Scioto had changed its channel, had 
encroached upon the eastern terrace and had destroyed a portion 
of the covered way. At Piketon the stream had withdrawn from 
the terrace and had left an old channel, with ponds full of water, 
near the foot of the covered way, but is now flowing in a new 
channel half a mile from the covered way. The graded way 
which ended with the terrace was 1050 feet long and 215 feet 
wide. It may, at one time, have been used as a canoe landing 
or levee, for the village was on the summit of the terrace; but 
the village is gone and many of the works have disappeared. 

The enclosures at Hopeton are better preserved, but the walls 
of the covered way, which are nearly half a mile in length, ter 
minate at the edge of the 
terrace, at the foot of 
which it is evident the 
river once had its course, 
but between which and 
the present bed of the 
stream a broad and fer 
tile bottom now inter 
venes This covered 
way may have been de 
signed as a passage-way 
to Monnd City, on the 
opposite side of the 
river. See map. The 
graded way at Marietta ends with the terrace, but there is now 
an interval of 700 feet between the end of the way and the river 
bank. These changes indicate great antiquity in the works of 
Southern Ohio. The same is true of the southern works. There 
are old river beds near the pyramids of Georgia, according to 
Professor Eugene Smith. This is true also of the mounds at 
Mason s plantation. The Savannah River has encroached upon 
the largest tumulus and " performed what it would have taken 
long days to accomplish." The layer of charcoal, ashes, shells, 
fragments of pottery and bones, can be traced along the water 
front of the mounds, showing its construction. These are two 
feet below the surface ; the superincumbent mass seems to have 
been heaped up to the height of thirty-seven feet above the plain 
and forty-seven feet above the water line. 

The age of the trees growing upon the earth-works is to be 
noticed here. The forts of Southern Ohio when discovered were 
generally covered with forests, and trees of large size were found 
upon the very summits of the walls. Some of them when cut 

*This Is situated on the Scioto River, one mile south of Chillicothe. A portion 
of the square has been spoiled by the invasion of Ihe river. The large circle has 
also been encroached upon. The low bottom at the base of the terrace was evident 
ly at one time the bed of Paint Creek, but has since changed its channel. 




iOO ft to Inch 

Fig. h. Circle and Square near Chillicothe.* 



55 



down showed four or five hundred rings, thus indicating that at 
least five hundred years had elapsed since the fort had been 
abandoned. Such was the case with the old fort at Newark. Mr. 
Isaac Smucker says the trees were growing upon its banks all 
around the circle, some of them ten feet in circumference. In 
1815 a tree was cut down which showed that it had attained the 
age of 550 years. Squier and Davis speak of the fort in High 
land County. They say that "the area was covered with a 
heavy primitive forest of gigantic trees. An oak stood on the 
wall, now fallen and much decayed, which measured twenty-three 
feet in circumference. All around are scattered the trunks ot 
immense trees in every 
stage of decay. The en 
tire fort presented the 
appearance of the great 
est antiquity." 

IV. The contents of the 
mounds are instructive. 
It is remarkable that 
no buffalo pipes have so 
far been found in the 
mounds, though ele 
phant pipes have been. 
We imagine the pipe- 
makers were earlier than 
the effigy-builders, for 
the pipes are found in 
are seldom found 




Fig. 5 Circle and Square near Chillicothe .* 



the lowest strata of the mounds and 
upon the surface; while the buffalo bones 
are often found near the summits of the mounds, and were very 
common upon the surface. Paths were made of the shoulder 
bones of buffalos in Dakota. Agricultural tools made from the 
bones of the buffalo were found in Ohio. These facts show that 
the range of the buffalo was formerly farther east. The indica 
tions are that the mastodon was known to the earlier Mound- 
builders and the buffalo to the later, and that the Mound-builders 
age extended from the time of the mastodon to the time of the 
buffalo, and was prolonged througl) many centuries. 

The mounds of habitation are found in the north and south 
east part of Vincennes. The north mound has a height of 36 
feet, a circumference of 847 feet, and is attended by another 25 



*This work is situated on the left bank of the north fork of Paint Creek, 10 miles 
from Chillicothe. A portion of the large circle has been encroached upon and de 
stroyed by the creek, which has since receeded something over a fifth of a mile. 
There was formerly a Shawnee town near this work. Indian graves are marked on 
the plan. From these relics have been taken gun-barrels, copper kettles, silver 
cross and brooches, and many other ornaments which the Indians were accustomed 
to bury with the dead. The ancient works at Piketon, at Cedar Banks, and at 
High Banks have also been encroached upon by the river. See section map of 
twelve miles of the Scioto Valley. The works at Piketon illustiates the same fact. 
The works are destroyed by the wasting of the bank. The river now runs at a dis 
tance Its ancient bed is distinctly to be seen at the base of the terrace. See maps 
on pp. 17, 18, 115 and 189; also cuts on pp. 94, 154, 240 and 264. 



56 

feet high and 40 feet in circumference. Prof. Collett speaks of 
one mound which he calls a temple mound, and says that the 
temple had two stories. In other words, it was a terraced mound. 
We have elsewhere expressed the opinion that this group at 
Vincennes, as well as that near Evansville, belongs to the same 
class with the Cahokia mounds and may well be called terraced 
pyramids or terraced platform mounds. They constitute temple 
mounds of a peculiar type. They are generally grouped in such 
a way that the terraced mound is in the center. These pyra 
mid mounds were evidently devoted to sun worship, though it is 
uncertain whether their summits were occupied by temples or 
by houses of the chiefs. If we take the descriptions given by 
the early explorers, we should say that the terraced pyramids 
were perhaps the residences of the chiefs and that they were 
guarded by warriors who were stationed upon the terraces, the 
conical mounds in the vicinity being the place where the temple 
was located. This, however, takes us into a new field. A de 
scription of the pyramids has been given elsewhere. We only 
refer to them here as exhibiting a race of sun worshipers, who 
were followed by a race of hunters. 

The mounds in the State of Illinois were built by a different 
class of people ; many of them contained in the stratification 
the records of different periods. This was especially the case 
with the burial mounds. There are many burial mounds which 
have bodies at different depths; some of the bodies having been 
deposited by later tribes and some by earlier. Those at the bot 
tom of the mounds are generally badly decayed and show signs 
of age. We find an illustration among the burial mounds. The 
pyramid at Beardstown, Illinois, is to be noticed. This seems to 
have been a very old structure, but was occupied at recent date. 
It was 30 feet high, 150 feet in diameter, and stood immediately 
upon the bank of the river on land which was surrounded by a 
slough and which was in reality an island. This island, on ac 
count of its favorable position, had been for centuries a camping 
ground of the aborigines. It was excavated by the city author 
ities and found to contain upon its summit shallow graves with 
skeletons of recent Indians, buried with implements of iron and 
stone and ornaments of glass and brass. A little deeper remains 
of Europeans, perhaps followers of La Salleand Tonty; a silver 
cross was grasped by the skeleton hand and Venetian beads en 
circled the skeleton waist of a former missionary, a disciple of 
Loyola, who had probably made his grave in this distant wilder 
ness. These were intrusive burials. At the botton of this mound, 
on the original sand surface, there was found a series of stone 
graves or crypts, formed by planting flat stones in the sand and 
covering them with other flat stones. These tombs or rude cists 
were empty. So great was the lapse of time that the bodies had 
entirely decayed, not a vestige remained. The mound when fin- 



57 

ished formed an elevated platform, from whose summit was an 
uninterrupted view of the distant bluffs on both sides of the river 
for two or three miles above and below. A nest of broad horn 
stone discs was discovered buried in the sand a short distance 
above this mound. The nest was composed of five layers of 
flints, about 1000 in all. They were embedded in the bank of 
the river, but above the reach of the highest water, four feet be 
low the surface. They had been placed in an ovoid heap or 
altar, overlapped each other as shingles on a roof. The length 
of the ovoid was six feet and the width four feet. The relics 
had an average length of six inches, width four inches; their 
shape was also ovoid. They were discolored with a concretion 
which showed undisturbed repose in the clay, enveloped for a 
great period of time. It is supposed that they were originally 
brought from Flint Ridge. They resembled the flint discs found 
in the Clark s works of Ohio; similar nests have been found 
near St. Louis, Cassville, on the Illinois river; several places on 
the Scioto river. The most rational theory in reference to the 
discs, is that they were deposited in obedience to a superstition 
or religious idea, which was perhaps related to a water cult. Dr. 
Snyder mentions a deposit of 3500, near Fredericksville, in 
Schuyler County, also on the Illinois river. Dr. Charles Rau 
described a deposit of horn stone discs, circular in shape, near 
Kaskaskia river, and another deposit of agricultural flint imple 
ments near East St. Louis. W. K. Morehead mentions a de 
posit of 7300 discs discovered in a mound near Clark s works 
in Ohio. These discs seem to connect the Mound-builders of 
the Illinois river with those of the Scioto, and convey the idea 
that the pyramids and the sacred enclosures were built at the 
same time. 

Another mound of this class was found at Mitchell s Station, 
on the Chicago and Alton Railroad. The mound was 300 feet 
long and 30 or 40 feet high, and contained near the base of it a 
skeleton in a wrapping of matting, a large number of copper im 
plements and ornaments, and a portion of the head of a buffalo. 

It is to be noticed here that the pottery of this region resem 
bles that found in West Tennessee and in Southeastern Missouri 
a pottery mady of very fine material and very highly glazed. 
The animals imitated by the pottery are very much the same, but 
the pottery pipes and portrait vases are lacking. There are 
many human skeletons lying underneath the soil in the vicinity 
of these platform mounds. In some places layers of them to 
the depth of eight or nine feet are found. Relic-hunters also 
find many burials along the sides of the bluffs. Large quantities 
of agricultural tools ^are taken out frerh these burial places. These 
cemeteries on the bottom lands and on the bluffs indicate that 
there was an extensive population for a long period of time. We 
classify the works and relics with those of the Southern Mound- 



58 

builders, and imagine that they were older than the Northern 
Mound-builders. 

We here refer to the mounds of Kentucky. Sidney Lyons, in 
speaking of the mounds opposite the mouth of the Wabash, says 
that they contain three different kinds of burials: i. Those 
without works of art near the summit. 2. Those with works of 
art, the bodies having been laid on the surface. 3. Deep excava 
tions containing badly preserved bones. One mound contained 
different burials, the urn burial in the middle. With the urns 
were deposited parcels of paint and iron ore. Another mound 
contained several copper awls and iron ore ; another mound con 
tained the following relics : several copper awls, five inches long, 
a disc of copper covered with woven fabric, three circular stones 
with the margin groved like a pulley, with five small perforations 
in the margin; in another mound was a layer of clay, beneath 
the clay a pavement of limestone. The burials above the clay 
were peculiar: the bodies were placed in circles, lying on the left 
side, heads inward; the burials below the pavement six feet be 
low the clay ; but no relics or works of art were connected with 
the deep burials. Some of the bodies were covered with slabs 
of stone, set slanting like a roof, but those below the pavement 
were merely covered with sandy soil. Another was to dig a deep 
vault in the form of a circle, placing the bodies against the side 
of the wall, in a sitting posture, faces inward. These different 
burials show that there was a succession of races in this region, 
some of them quite modern, others very early. 

Mr. Lyons seems to have come upon burial mounds in which 
there were successions of races buried, three or lour different peri 
ods of time being represented, The relics and bones in the deep 
burials were generally decayed. The relics in the middle series 
were of a primitive kind and seem to have been made by an un- 
warlike people. There were extensive cemeteries in Tennessee 
and Missouri, and grand depositories of bones in the caves of 
Kentucky and Ohio. These cemeteries and ossuaries may have 
been earlier or later than the regular Mound-builders; they at 
least show that there was a succession of races and that all parts 
of the country were occupied for a long time. 



59 



CHAPTER V. 



BURIAL MOUNDS VIEWED AS MONUMENTS. 

DIFEERENT MODES OF BURIAL ASCRIBED TO DIFFERENT TRIBES 

OR RACES. 

We propose in this chapter to take up the burial mounds in the 
United States and study them as monuments. The term is very 
appropriate, since they, in common with all other funereal struc 
tures, were evidently erected as monuments, which were sacred 
to the memory of the dead. Whatever we may say about them 
as works of architecture, they are certainly monumental in de 
sign. It is a singular fact that mounds have everywhere been 
erected for this purpose. We read in Homer that a mound was 
built over the grave of Patroclus, and that the memorial of this 
friend of ^Eneas was only a heap of earth. The name of 
Buddha, the great Egyptian divinity, has also been perpetuated 
in the same way. There are great topes, conical structures, in 
various parts of Asia, which contain nothing more than a fabled 
tooth of the great incarnate divinity of the East, but the outer 
surface of these topes is very imposing. The pyramids of Egypt 
were erected for the same purpose. Some of them contain the 
mummies of the kings by whose orders they were erected. Some 
of them have empty tombs, and yet they are all monuments to 
the dead. It was a universal custom among the primitive races 
to erect such memorials to the dead. The custom continued, 
even when the races had passed out from their primitive condi 
tion, but was modified. The earth heaps gave place to stone 
structures, either menhirs or standing stones, cairns, cromlechs, 
dolmens, triliths. stone circles, and various other rude stone 
monuments, though all of these may have been more the tokens 
of the bronze age than of the stone age. We make this distinc 
tion between the ages: during the paleolithic age there were no 
burial heaps ; the bodies were placed in graves, or perished 
without burial. During the neolithic age the custom of burying 
in earth heaps was the most common, though it varied according 
to circumstances. During the bronze age stone monuments 
were the most numerous. When the iron age was introduced the 
the modern custom of erecting definite architectural structures 
appeared. The prevalence of the earthworks in the United 
States as burial places shows that the races were here tn the 
stone age, but the difference between these will illustrate the 
different conditions through which the people passed during that 
age. 



(50 

There is one point to be considered here. It has been main 
tained that the stone age has existed in all parts of the globe. 
The prevalence of burial mounds proves this. It is wonderful 
that they are so widely distributed. Sir John Lubbock says: 

" In our own island the smaller tumuli may be seen in almost 
every down ; in the Orkeys alone it is estimated that more than 
two thousand still remain, and in Denmark they are even more 
abundant; they are found all over Europe from the shores of the 
Atlantic to the Ural mountains; in Asia they are scattered over 
the great steppes, from the borders of Russia to the Pacific ocean, 
and from the plains of Siberia to those of Hindostan; the entire 
plain of Jellabad, says Masson, is literally covered with tumuli 
and mounds. In America they are to be numbered by thousands 
and tens of thousands ; nor are they wanting in Africa, where 
the pyramids exhibit the most magnificent development of the 
same idea; indeed, the whole world is studded with the burial 
places of the dead. Many of them, indeed, are small, but some 
are very large. The mound on Silbury hill is the highest in 
Great Britain ; it has a height of 187 feet. Though it is evidently 
artificial, there is some doubt whether it is sepulchral."* 

Another fact is to be noticed. The custom of erecting 
tumuli, or earth heaps, has survived late into history. This is 
the point which Dr. Cyrus Thomas has sought to establish. 
It will be readily granted, for the intelligent reader will notice 
that there are such tumuli not only in America, but also in various 
parts of Europe. The tumuli in Russia will serve as an exam 
ple. These are called " kurgans." and are said to have belonged 
to historic times, some of them having been erected as late as 
the eleventh century, A. D. Two kinds of graves are found in 
them, one kind belonging to the bronze age, the other to the 
iron age, the burning of the dead having been practiced in the 
bronze age, but the extended corpse being characteristic of the 
iron age. Another remarkable proof of this is furnished by the 
discovery of the burial place of one of the Norse sea-kings. It 
was on the shores of Norway, near Gokstad, and contained a 
Viking ship, with oars, shields, benches, and other equipments. 
In the ship was a sepulchral chamber which contained the body 
of a Viking chief, and about it were the remains of horses which 
were buried with him. Here, then, we have a case similar to 
those found in Russia, burial mounds having been erected as late 
as the tenth century. Great changes had taken place in the sur 
roundings since that time, for the mound was some distance 
from the shore, showing that the sea had receded from the land 
since the burial. 

The most important point is that there is the perpetuity of 
the custom of mound building through all the "ages". Here 

*Lubbock s Prehistoric Times, pp. Ill and 112. 



61 

we have the Viking sea-king, with a boat fastened together with 
iron nails. In the same region we have kitchen middens with 
the remains of extinct animals in them. Between the two we 
have the whole history of the stone age, the different monuments 
showing the succession of races. If this is the case in Scandi 
navia, it is also the case in America. The burial mounds are 
not all, by any means, of modern date. Perhaps none of 
them can be traced back to as early a date as the kitchen middens 
and the cave contents of Europe indicate, yet many of them are, 
we believe, quite ancient; in fact, so ancient that everything that 
was perishable has passed away, and only the imperishable has 
been preserved. The mounds are valuable as records, since they 
show a succession of races. There may be, even in the same 
group, different mounds which have been erected in different 
ages, so that the records may go over several hundred years, 
even when the appearance externally is the same. 

With these remarks we propose to consider the burial mounds 
of the United States, especially those found in the Mississippi 
valley. We would say, however, before beginning, that there 
are mounds outside this valley, in fact many of them. They 
have been discovered on the northwest coast, in British Colum 
bia, in Washington Territory, and in Oregon. Mr. James Deans 
claims that he has discovered a certain embankment near Vic 
toria, B. C., with a ditch six feet deep; also low mounds, the 
remnants of ancient dwellings, and burial caves of the usual 
type. Mr. Forbes maintains that the works of this region resem 
ble the stone circles which are found in Devonshire, England. 
The dimensions of the mounds are from three to eighteen feet 
in diameter, and they are found in groups of from three to fifty. 
It is probable that these earthworks are fortifications, and that 
the stone circles within them are the remains of huts, which have 
fallen and been destroyed. The burial mounds of this region 
have not been explored. There are graves near Santa Barbara, 
and on Santa Rosa island, in Southern California, which have 
yielded large quantities of stone relics. These have been de 
scribed by Rev. Stephen Bowers, Drs. C. C. Abbott, H. W.Hen- 
shaw, Lucien Carr, and others.* * 

There are also shell heaps or kitchen middens in the same 
region. These, however, differ from the burial mounds, which 
are really rare along the Pacific coast. Dr. Hudson has discov 
ered a tumulus of the regular type, and has described it in 
THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN.! It is situated near Oakland, 
Cal. " It is imposing in form, interesting in feature, locality and 
composition." It measures three hundred feet in diameter at the 
base, and twenty-five feet in height. It is circular in form, with 
a flat summit, is one hundred and fifty feet across the truncated 

*See Wheeler s Geographical Survey, Vol. VII, Smithsonian Report, 1877. 
tSee American Antiquarian, Vol. VII, No. 3. 



62 

top. A relic exhumed from a mound in the vicinity is also de 
scribed by Dr. Hudson. It is a crescent carved in stone, two 
inches wide and eight inches from point to point, and is supposed 
to indicate the prevalence of sun worship in the vicinity. 

We now come to the burial mounds of the Mississippi valley. 
These are to be classified and described. We shall describe 
them, both according to their architectural character and their 
geographical location, as well as their contents, since this is 
the light in which we are to study them. The architectural char 
acter embraces, I, the question of size and shape; 2, the material 
of which they are composed; 3, the method of construction, 
whether stratified or solid; 4, the character of interior, whether 
a chamber, an altar, a fire-bed or other structure. 

The study of geographical location will embrace two or three 
points : I, The question whether some of them were not used as 
signal stations; 2, whether some of them were not built in con- 
connection with villages ; 3, whether their contents do not reveal 
the social status, the relics of one district being very different 
from those of another district, but the burial mounds being quite 
similar in character throughout the same districts; 4, whether 
their association with other earth works would indicate that all 
were built by the same clan or tribe. 

In treating of the burial mounds of the Mississippi valley, we 
shall keep the division which we have adopted with reference to 
the other earth-works, but shall modify it to suit the circum 
stances. The division is as follows: I. The Upper Mississippi 
district, including the mounds in Minnesota and Dakota, and 
extending north as far as Lake Winnipeg, south as far as the 
Des Moines river. II. The Wisconsin district, the area of the 
emblematic or effigy mounds. III. The district about the Great 
Likes, including Michigan and New York. IV. The Middle 
Mississippi district, including Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. V. The 
district on the Ohio river. VI. The Appalachian district, includ 
ing Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. VII. The 
Lower Mississippi district, and Texas. VIII. The Gulf district, 
including the Gulf States east of the Mississippi. Here we find 
large, flat-topped, pyramidal mounds, enclosed by walls and sur 
rounded by ditches and canals. 

This division is the one given by Dr. Cyrus Thomas, though 
it is based upon a division previously laid down by the writer, 
but with two districts added, the middle district having been 
divided into two, and another on the eastern coast, in North 
Carolina, having been discovered by Dr. Thomas himself. The 
division is based upon the characteristics of the relics which 
are found in the districts, rather than upon the burial cus 
toms, and therefore indicate nothing concerning these customs. 
Still it is well to state that there is a correlation between the 



63 

burial customs and the districts, so that we may recognize the 
social status of the mounds, as well as of the general structures. 

I. We take first the district which is embraced within the 
Upper Mississippi valley, which may be called the Northern dis 
trict. There are many burial mounds in this district. There 
are, to be sure, a few other earth-works, such as fortifications, 
lodge circles, lookout mounds, and domiciliary mounds, but the 
large majority were evidently erected for burial purposes. These 
are found in Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and 
Indiana, all of which may be called prairie States. The district 
might also be said to embrace the valley of the Red river and 
the States of Dakota, for the mounds found in these regions are 
mainly burial mounds. It is a very extensive district, and yet 
one that is homogeneous in character. It is uncertain whether 
the mounds were the work of Indians known to history, but they 
were evidently built by people of the hunter class, all of whom 
were nomadic in their habits. It is one of the peculiarities of 
nomads that they rarely provide for permanent habitations, but 
they do provide for the burial of the dead. It is strange that 
throughout the region which we have mentioned there are so 
few fortifications but so many burial mounds. It is probable 
that the people who dwelt on the prairies had from time immem 
orial been in the habit of placing their villages near the water 
courses, and then building signal mounds at various points on 
either side of the villages. By this means they could become 
aware of the approach of an enemy, and then find safety by 
taking flight, leaving their villages to be destroyed by the enemy. 

It is noticeable that most of the signal stations were burial 
mounds, or, in other words, burial mounds were used as signal 
stations, the location of these mounds on the high points 
being not only favorable for burials, but also useful for the 
purposes of defense, as they furnish fine views of the surround 
ing country. It is possible that there was a religious sentiment 
embodied in them the spirits of the dead watching over the 
abodes of the living, but the living taking the abodes of the dead 
as their watch towers, and so the living and the dead were com 
bined together to secure safety. 

They may have been used also by hunters as lookout stations, 
from which the presence of game could be discovered, as many of 
them command views of the prairie upon one side and the bottom 
lands upon the other, being so placed that large animals might be 
seen grazing on one side and birds and water fowl feeding upon 
the other, the lakes, streams and open country being brought to 
view by the elevated position, and at the same time signals in the 
shape of fires or clouds of smoke could be sent to more distant 
points. It is a region which favored this method of defense and this 
kind of hunting, since it was a prairie region through which large 
streams and rivers flowed, the rivers furnishing an abundance of 



64 

fish and water fowl, but the prairies game of a larger sort. It is 
very interesting to pass over the country and study the location 
of the burial mounds with these points in view, for there is 
scarcely a mound whose location is not significant. The burial 
mounds form cordons of lookout stations, and taken together 
they make a net-work which covers the whole map. The writer 
has discovered three lines of lookout stations along the Mississ 
ippi river, one of them on the bottom lands near the bank of the 
river, another on the bluffs which overlook the river, another 
several miles back overlooking the prairies, which are situated 
on either side of the river valley. It was also noticed that within 
the lines of lookout stations the villages were built, some of 
them being on the bottom land, others on the bluff s, others on 
the edge of the prairies, the burial mounds being placed near 
the villages, but lookout mounds at a distance. Others have also 
noticed the same system of signal stations on the Missouri 
river.* 

As to the character of the mounds within the district, we 
would say that they are ordinary conical or hemispherical tumuli, 
built solidly throughout, very few of them having cists within 
them, though some of them contain layers of stone, which alter 
nate with the layers of earth, the bodies being below the strata. 
Perhaps the district may be subdivided according to the relics 
contained in the mounds, but not according to the modes of 
burial, though different modes of burial were practiced by the 
different tribes which traversed the district. 

Some of the bodies are recumbent, others in sitting posture, 
others lying upon the side, perhaps buried in the attitude in 
which they died ; others present promiscuous heaps of bones 
" bone burials" ; others have the bodies arranged in a circle, teet 
out and heads toward the center ; others have the bodies arranged 
in lines placed parallel with one another. A few have bodies in 
tiers, as if piled upon one another. All, however, are buried in 
a compact manner, chambers being exceptions. 

The solid type of burial mound we ascribe to the hunter races. 
This may seem conjectural, and yet we think the conclusion is 
proven by the facts. If we take the range of this class of tumuli 
and compare it with the habitat of the hunter tribes known to 
history, we shall find a very close correspondence. In this dis 
trict we find the Algonquins and Dacotahs, who were strictly 
hunters, and the Chippewas, who were both hunters and fisher 
men. They occupied all of the region between the great lakes 
and the Ohio river, extending west as far as the Missouri river. 
They would be called savages, though according to Mr. Morgan s 
classification, they would occupy the upper status of savagery 
and the lower status of barbarism. They were partially village 

*S. V. Proudflt. in American Antiquarian, Vol. VI, No. 5. 



65 

Indians, were acquainted with pottery, they used the bow and 
arrow, occasionally used metals such as copper, galena, brown 
hematite and mica. They subsisted upon wild animals, but also 
gathered wild rice, and some of them cultivated maize and had 
patches of squashes, melons and other garden products. The 
chief tokens of this class of people are found in the burial 
mounds. They consist of arrows and spears, axes and hammers, 
shell beads, copper needles, knives, pipes, badges or maces, 
spool ornaments, and occasionally specimens of cloth. Modern 
relics are frequently found in the mounds, showing that the 
hunter races of this district did not abandon the mound building 
until after the advent of the white man. The relics, however, 
prove that in the prehistoric times the people of this entire dis 
trict were in a much lower condition than those in the Southern 
States. There are no burial urns, no painted pottery, no elabor 
ate symbols, very few idols or human images, and but few 
inscribed tablets. There are traces of extensive aboriginal trade, 
copper from Lake Superior, shells from the sea coast and the 
gulf of Mexico, obsidian cores from the Rocky mountains, mica 
from North Carolina, flint from Ohio, and galena from Wiscon 
sin. This variety of relics proves not only that there was an 
aboriginal trade, but that the tribes were wanderers and had not 
reached the sedentary condition which is peculiar to agricultural 
races. This confirms what we have said, There may have been 
a great variety of races, and it is very likely that there were many 
periods of occupation, a succession of races. Still, the region 
was so favorable to hunting that it seemed to have been occupied 
by hunters from time immemorial. We have discovered signs 
of different periods of occupation in many of the burial mounds 
of this region. In one group we found three mounds. One of 
them contained the body of a medicine man, with a modern 
looking-glass in one hand and a bridle-bit in the other, with frag 
ments of cotton cloth, pieces of tin, coils of brass wire and other 
relics about his person, showing that he was buried after the 
advent of white men, probably within fifty years. Another 
mound contained several bodies, but with no relics except a 
single chipped flint arrow-head, though a child seemed to have 
had a wristlet of bone beads around its hand, and a pottery vase 
filled with sweatmeats which had been placed near its head. This 
mound had trees growing upon its summit which were at least 
three hundred years old. The third mound contained three 
bodies lying upon the side, with face in the hand.* We discovered 
also in the same region mounds built with stone walls in the form 
of a circle, filled with bodies laid in tiers, but with stone slabs 
lying between the tiers, the whole solid throughout, and a quasi 

*There are evidences that this mode of burial was practiced by one of the later 
tribes, possibly Sacs and Foxes, but the other burials were by the earlier tribes, some 
of them by Shawnees, and some of them by tribes preceding even the Illinois. 



roof of slabs covering the whole structure. The evidence was 
that a number of tribes had occupied the region. Each tribe 
had practiced a different mode of burial, but that, with all their 
changes, no tribe passed beyond the hunter state. We give a 
series of cuts* to illustrate the character of the mounds of this 
region. One of these represents a group near Excelsior, Minn. 
See Plate I. It is in a forest which borders on Lake Minnetonka. 
It will be noticed that there is a circle of mounds surrounding a 
low place or natural meadow, and a wall extending along the lake 
shore. The group contains sixty-nine mounds, most of them 
burial mounds. One of the mounds was opened, and thirty-five 
skulls were found within it, arranged in a circle, covered with 



L *!<(/!/< * ^Ml/Iff. . Jin*/" , 
////i sautf/t <tUuu/>* *! / 




Fig. 1 Group of Mounds Tu-elve Miles from Gideon s Bail. 

sand. The location of the group and the arrangement of the 
mounds would indicate that it was the site of an ancient village. 
The writer has discovered other village sites with the same or 
similar arrangements of burial mounds one of them on the 
Crawfish, near Mud Lake, in Wisconsin, and another at the Cor 
liss Bayou, near Prairie du Chien. The placing of the burial 
mounds around the edge of a village site may have been owing 
to superstition, the same superstition as that which led to the 
use of a burial mound as a signal station, the spirits of the dead 
being regarded as a protection to the village, since they were 
supposed to remain near the place where the body was laid. It 
may, however, have been owing to the custom, which prevailed 
in certain tribes, of burying the dead in the very spot where the 



*See Smithsonian Report, 1879, p. 422 




BURIAL MOUNDS IN OHIO. 



67 
. \ 

lodge stood, and then moving the lodge to another place. A 
group of mounds one mile northeast of this is shown on the 
upper left-hand corner of the cut. Plate I. They are on a spot 
of ground four hundred and fifty feet above the level of the lake, 
and were probably used as signal stations. A group twelve 
miles southeast is represented in the next cut. Fig. i. Here are 
thirteen mounds situated on a high bluff, showing that these were 
used as signal stations as well as burial mounds. There is 
another group, two miles southwest, which contains forty or fifty 
mounds, and still another, seven miles northwest, which is called 
Mound City. Here the writer has discovered a game drive. 
Taking the region together, we should say that the burial mounds 
were closely connected with the village life, but such a kind o 
life as hunters would follow, the very position of the tumuli 
being such as would be favorite spots with hunters. 

There are not many large mounds in the northern district. The 
only one which has been discovered is the one called the hay 
stack mound. It is situated in Lincoln County, Dakota, eighty- 
five miles northwest of Sioux City. It is on a fine bottom, and 
is three hundred and twenty-seven feet in length at the base at 
the northwest side and two hundred and ninety feet on the 
southeast side, and one hundred and twenty feet wide. Its sides 
slope at an angle of about fifty degrees; it is from thirty-four to 
forty-one feet in height, the northeast end being the higher. 

The most interesting mounds of this district are the lookout 
mounds, to which we have already referred. Some of these are 
quite large, being situated upon sightly places, they are prominent 
lankmarks, and are now becoming interesting objects for tourists 
to visit. One such lookout mound is situated near St. Paul; 
others at Winona, at Red Wing, at Dubuque, at Dunleith, at 
Rock Island and Davenport, at New Albany, Keokuk, Quincy, 
and other places. One of the mounds south of Quincy was 
used by the coast survey as a place to erect a tower upon, thus 
showing that it occupied a very prominent position. 

We give here a map of the mounds situated along the banks of 
the Mississippi river, near Muscatine. The map will show the 
number and location of the tumuli. They are perhaps more 
numerous in this vicinity than elsewhere, but they are generally 
placed on the highest points or bluffs, as they are here. This 
particular region has been explored by gentlemen from Musca 
tine and from Davenport. The letters will indicate the points. 
It has been found that they were nearly all burial mounds, though 
they did not all contain relics, other than the bones of the dead. 
See map. 

There are shell heaps in this vicinity, located in the neighbor 
hood of these mounds, " which extend for miles without inter 
ruption." They are composed of recent shells and contain few 
implements. The mounds occupy the most beautiful prospect 




/ /. /. - Mound near Moline. 



in the country. One large mound five miles east of Moline was 
opened and disclosed the following structure: Three feet of 
soil (a), twenty-two inches of ashes and bones (b), and twelve 
inches of charcoal and bones (c). See Fig, 2. In seven mounds 
the bodies were found lying upon the side, the knees drawn up 

to the chin.* Two other groups 
in this vicinity are represented in 
the cuts. Figs. 3 and 4. One of 
them, the one on Tohead Island, 
has a shell heap near it, and the 
other containing ten mounds, is 
located on an isolated hill or ridge. 
In the vicinity is found a cemetery 
containing two or three hundred 
graves. The graves are upon low 
ground, and the mounds upon high 
ground. 1 

We give also another cut (see 
Fig. 5f) to show the relative group 
ing of the burial mounds. The 
group has been explored by parties 
from the Davenport Academy, and 
some interesting relics have been taken from them, Moline being 
but a few miles east of Davenport. The group contains thirty- 
three mounds, some of them made ot lime-stone slabs. 

The burial mounds of this vicinity Muscatine, Rock Island, 
Moline and Davenport show how extensive the population 
was. They con 
tain many relics 
which show that 
the people were 
quite advanced in 
some of the arts, 
the sculptured 
pipes which have 
been taken out 
from the mounds 
being very re 
markable. There 
is not a better col 
lection of the pipes of the Mound-builders in the United 
States than the one contained in the museum of the Davenport 
Academy of Science. These pipes were taken from the mounds 
in the vicinity, those from the Cooke farm, three miles south of 
Davenport, being the most interesting. From this same group 




Fig. S Mound on Tohead Inland. 



*See description of same mode of burial In mounds near Qulncy, 111. 

tSee Am. Antiquarian, Vol. II, No. 2. Taken from Smithsonian Report, 1879, p. 365 



69 

on the Cooke farm the so-called Davenport tablets were taken. 
These are anomalous in character, totally unlike the other speci 
mens in the cabinet. Members of the Academy maintain that 
they are genuine, but one may recognize upon them so many 
Roman and Arabic numerals, and so many alphabetic letters, as 
to conclude at once that they were made by some one acquainted 
with these modern characters. The relics contained in the cab- 




Fig. /t Group of Ten Monuds on a High Ridge. 

inet, aside from these tablets, are very valuable. We find here 
many interesting specimens of copper axes and pieces of cloth, 
as well as pipes and pottery. There are also relics in the cabinet 
from the districts farther south, from Missouri and Arkansas, 
and these being placed side by side, show the differences between 
the districts in grade of culture and art products. 

II. We come now to the second district. This is the district 
occupied by the effigy mounds. It is a very interesting region. 

Road 




Hail Road,. 



Fig. 5. Burial Mounds near Moline, HI. 

Here the effigies are numerous and have a great variety of 
shapes. We have in them complete imitations of the animals 
which once abounded, but which have become for the most part 
extinct. There are many effigies of panthers, wolves, foxes, bear, 
wild cat and other beasts of prey. Besides them we have 
moose, elk, deer, buffalo, antelope and other grazing animals 
There are also many birds; eagles, hawks, wild geese, pigeons 
swans, cranes, herons, ducks of various sorts, swallows, night 




70 




hawks. The amphibious creatures are also 
represented; turtles, lizards, muskrats, otter, 
fish and frogs. Also fur-bearing animals, such 
as beaver, badger, squirrels, skunks, mink and 
weasels; raccoons and martens. Many of these 
are imitations of the animals, but many of 
them are also totems or emblems of the tribe 
who formerly dwelt here. The effigies have 
enabled us to identify the affinity of the tribe 
as well as its division into clans. Some eight 
or nine clans have been identified. The burial 
mounds are scattered among the effigies in 
such a way as to show that the clans were 
accustomed to deposit their dead in conical 

tumuli,though 
they occasion 
ally erected an 
effigy over the 
prominent 
members ofthe 
,...4) tribe. Not all 
of the conical 
tumuli 



were 

erected by the effigy 
builders. There was 
a succession of races 
or tribes which occu 
pied this region, 
some of which built 
only conical monnds, 
but the effigy build 
ers were the first of 
all. 



jf ^1 The tumuli of the 

t^^ effigy builders can be 

distinguished from 
those of the later 
tribes both by the 

proximity to effigies, and by their location upon the 
high ground, as well as by the contents. They are 
ordinary conical tumuli, solidly built throughout. 
They contain burials which resemble those of the first 
district, though there are very few pipes or carved 
stone relics found within them. Some of these burial 
mounds are surrounded by effigies, as if the purpose 
was to guard them. Others, however, are arranged 
in lines with the effigies, forming parts of the 
groups. Still others are placed on the summits of hills, with 



6 

j 

4 





71 



effigies arranged in line in front of them, others in clusters with 
effigies at various distances from them.* In one case a row of 
burial mounds was found located on a ridge or high cliff; the 




and Burial Mounds near Beloif. 



ridge having the shape of an immense serpent, and the mounds 
being arranged so as to show the form of the serpent, the 
summit of the ridge and the line of the mounds both convey 
ing the same idea. This was near Cassville, in Grant County, 
Wisconsin. 




fig. 8 ^founds on the East Side of Lake Koshkonong. 

We give a series of cuts to illustrate the burial mounds of 
this district. The first group is situated in the vicinity of the 
so-called elephant effigy, on the same bottom land, but about a 
mile to the north. See Fig. 6. It was described by Mr. Moses 
Strong.f 



*See book on "Emblematic Mounds," by the author. fSmithsonian Report, 1875. 



7L 



SECTION 
MOUN D 

AT A 



The group was excavated and found to contain intruded 
burials, skeletons very fresh in appearance, 
but no other relics. This group may have 
been erected by a tribe which followed the 
effigy builders. Another cut, however, 
represents a group near Aztlan (see Fig. 13), 
the celebrated ancient city, which may have 
been the capital of the effigy builders. 
The next represents a group near Beloit. 
See Fig. 8. Here effigies and tumuli 
are associated. Another cut (see Fig. 9) 
represents a group on the east side of Lake 





so.1 of. hill 



Fig. 10 Mound <tt Jiidian Ford. 



GroiiSaeUoo O f /"found A .Qr*- 

p 




guarded by eagles. Another group on the west side of Lake 
Koshkonong repre 
sents burial mounds 
guarded by tortoises. 
Burial mounds have 
been explored by va 
rious parties, Dr. I. 
A. Lapham, Dr. J. E. 
Hoy, R. B. Arm 
strong, W. H.Ander 
son, Wm. F. Clarke, Dr. Cyrus Thomas, Col. J. G. Heg and others. 

The mound explored 
by Dr. Lapham was 
at Waukesha. This 
group was found on 
the college campus. 
A circular wall about 
nine feet in diameter 
was discovered. This 
Fig. 11 Mounds on Rock Rirt-r. extended about two 

feet above the original surface. An excavation within this wall 
was filled with black earth to the 
depth of about two feet. At the 
bottom of this was a skeleton 
lying on its back. It was sur 
rounded by a circular heap of 
stone, the stone also being placed 
over the body so as to form a 
sort of rude stone coffin. See 
Fiej. 9. In the left hand of the 
skeleton was a pottery bowl, in 
the right hand a small pipe. 
At the head were fragments of 

two pottery vessels. The mound ^g. 12 Mound at Newton. 

opened by Dr. J. E. Hoy was at Racine. This contained a body 



ftj- Rf.cf .toted claif containing 2 .ik 
Scale lZft.tB-& !nth. 




. A- Stoft sunk At anftr of mond 
a-ShtitUin A3kti mingled uiiOi tht bprxs. 
- fc- Later of bark. C- BoudtUr. 

<L0ipeit of ashti 3irvinthi(Ancji. 



73 



in a sitting posture, but there were no cist or wall or relics near 
it. The mounds explored by Mr. Clarke were near Indian Ford, 
on Rock river. One of these contained two burials (see Fig. 10); 
with three skeletons at the top and seven skeletons at the bottom. 
Another large mound (see Fig. 12), 75 feet in diameter, 13 feet 
high, contained ashes three inches thick (d); below the ashes a 
flat stone (c); below the stone decayed wood and bark (b), and 
below these a human skeleton (a). 

Thus we see that there was no uniformity in the structure ot 
the burial mounds of the district. Some of them seem to have 
been solid, others stratified. The bodies in some were found in 
sitting posture, in others recumbent; some of them contained 
rude stone walls; others contained altars; there is also evidence 
of cremation in some of them; in others, evidence of bone burial. 
The probability is that there was a succession of races here, and 
that some of the raxres or tribes continued to bury in mounds 
until after the settlement of the - 
country by the whites, as modern 
relics are sometimes found in 
them. The state abounds with 
copper relics, but it is uncertain 
whether these were left by effigy 
builders, or by subsequent tribes, 
probably, however, by the later 
tribes, since most of them arc 
surface finds. 

The effigies do not often con 
tain burials. One group, how 
ever, has been explored near Beloit. Two of the effigies in the 
group contained bodies which had been laid in rows, side by 
side, eight in number, on the surface of the ground, and then 
the effigy mound was erected over them. It is supposed that 
the effigy indicates the clan to which the persons belonged, but 
it is probable that the honor was bestowed upon some chief, and 
his family, or upon some band of warriors, but that it was not 
common to bury in this way. Dr, Cyrus Thomas has described 
several burial mounds which were excavated by his assistants 
near Prarie du Chien, in Crawford and Vernon Counties, Wis. 
One of these was stratified, first a layer of sand, next calcined 
bones, charcoal and ashes, burned hard, next clay burned to a 
brick, next a heap of bones, with charcoal and ashes. At the 
bottom was a pit, filled with chocolate colored dust. Another 
contained two rude walls, three feet high and eight feet long, be 
tween them a number of skeletons, lying flat, the skeleton being 
covered with a layer of mortar, this by a layer of clay and ashes, 
this again by a layer of clay, and then the top covering of sand 
and soil. Dr. J. E. Hoy has described a mound at Racine which 
contained a single skeleton in sitting posture. Dr. J. N. De- 




Fiq. 13 Mounds near Aztlan. 



74 



Harte* describes one at Madison as containing several bodies, 
one above the other, all of them in sitting posture, and still an 
other containing an altar at the base, but with no bodies. 

III. The third district embraces the region abcut the great 
lakes, from Detroit on through Northern Ohio into New York 
State. This district was occupied by the military or warlike 
races, and the mounds have been called military works. The 
distinguishing peculiarity of the district is that there are so 
many remains of old stockades in it. These stockades are found 
in great numbers in the State of New York, but they are also 
seen on the south shore of Lake Erie, as at Conneaut, at Ashta- 
bula, at Painesville, at Weymouth, south of Cleveland, at Detroit 
and many other points. The burial mounds of the district are 
for the most part simple conical tumuli, some of which may have 
been used as lookout stations as well as for burials. There are, 
however, a few large mounds, and these we shall speak of 
especially. There is at Detroit a massive burial mound, seven 
hundred feet long, four hundred feet wide, and not less than forty 
feet high. It is situated near the river Rouge, three miles 
below the city. Mr. Bela Hubbard says of it: "From the 
immense number of skeletons found in it and the mode of their 
occurrence, there can be but little doubt that it is one of those 
national sepulchres of the Huron and Algonquin tribes, where 
were deposited the remains of their dead. It affords certain 
evidence that cremation was practiced. Much charcoal and 
ashes were found, mingled with burned bones. With these were 
many pieces of large pots, but all broken. The mound contained 
so-called cellars or altars ." 

Here were also the celebrated perforated skulls, which have 
been so fully described by Mr. Henry Gillman, skulls which 
evidently belonged to a rude hunter or military race. The situ 
ation is such as would be chosen by the mound builders over all 
others. For a monument to their dead it is most picturesque. It 
was visible from a great distance in every direction and at the 
same time commanded a view of both the water and the land 
for many miles. f 

The burial mounds in this region have a general resemblance. 
They are terrace-like embankments twenty or twenty-five feet 
in height, which run parallel with the river or lake shore. They 
are partly natural and partly artificial. They contain relics, the 
debris of camps, as well as burials. The bones taken from them 
are marked with platyc nemism. showing that the people who 
dwelt here were hunters, since narrow, sharp shin bones are 
characteristic of hunters. The burial mounds of New York 
State differ from those of Michigan, in that they are conical 
tumuli, and are wholly artificial. Some of them contain modern 

* American Antiquarian, Vol. I, Page 200. 

fMemorials of Haifa Century, by Bela Hubbard, p. 229. 





BURIAL MOUNDS IN OHIO. 



relics. They have been ascribed to the Iroquois, while those of 
Michigan belong to the Algonquins.* 

Thus we see that in this district also the burial mounds served 
a double purpose; namely, of lookouts and as depositories for the 
dead. The bone burial seems to have been prevalent in the 
district. It is evident that there was also here a succession of 
races, but that all of the races were of a war-like character. Mr. 
Henry Gilman thinks that he has found traces of extreme antiq 
uity, but others think that the burials were of modern races. 

IV. The middle Mississippi district is next. This includes 
the works in the Missouri valley, as well as in Missouri, Arkan 
sas, Western Tennessee and Southern Illinois. It is character 
ized by stone vaults or chambered tombs, by village sites with 
lodge circles and a few pyramidal mounds. 

Prof. G. C. Broadhead has spoken of certain mounds in Pike 
County, Mo., which contain vaults constructed of lime stone. 
Two such vaults are described, one of them having a passage 
way at the side. This one was nine feet square, and two to three 




Fig. 15 8t.one Vault in Missouri. 

feet square. It contained a single chamber. See Fig. 15. He 
quotes, however, from a book published in 1823 (Beck s Gazet 
teer). It appears that a chambered structure, with two rectan 
gular chambers, and an oval chamber between them, having no 
communication with the others was found. This w r as a stone 
structure, was entirely above the ground, and is anomalous jn 
this respect. A similar structure, with four rooms, is also spoken 
of, one of the rooms (g) containing a few human bones, the 
other (h) having two entrances. See Fig. 16. Mr. E. B. West, 
of Kansas City, has discovered twenty-five mounds, Iccated on 
the highest points of the Missouri bluffs, the most of them con 
taining rock vaults. Prof. Broadhead has described three others 
which contained regularly built vaults, the walls being about 
three feet high, enclosing a space eight feet square, with right 
angles. The walls were built up with a regular perpendicular 
face, more true to the line than many so-called masons would 
place them, the layers of lime stone being very regular. The 
crypts appear to have been built above ground, and then to have 
been covered with earth afterwards. The vaults contained bodies 
in sittingposture, with knees bent, the hands resting on the knees. 



*See Sixth Annual Report, Peabody Museum, page 13. 



7d 



Works on No uc Cr., 
Pike Co., Mo. 




The vaults had openings or entrances, somewhat resembling the 
dolmens of Europe, though there are no such long passages as 
arc there found. 

Burial in vaults was common in this country. Paul Schu 
macher describes one found among the kitchen middens of the 
northwest coast,* which contained bodies in a recumbent pos 
ture. There are also chambered mounds in Ohio, Kentucky, 
Tennessee and West Virginia. These, however, are destitute of 
the stone work. They are vaults which have been built up by 
logs and covered over with poles; some of them also having a 
floor of logs or poles. The celebrated Grave Creek mound con- 
taindd two vaults, one above the other, constructed in this way. 
Squier and Davis discovered vaults in the burial mounds near 
Chillicothe, which were built of logs, and Prof. E. B. Andrews 

discovered anoth 
er near Athens, O. 
Prof. P u t n a m 
found a vault con 
structed of logs in 
the Turner group 
in Tennessee. Dr. 
Cyrus T ho mas 
has d i s c o v ered 
one in Iowa which 
contained a stone 
vault which was 
arched overhead, 
the arch being 
formed by flat un- 
worked stone, laid 
up without mor- 

Fig. 16-Stone Vaults. tar> t h e layers of 

stone projecting over the vault until they reached the top, when 
a single flat stone was placed above as the final covering. In 
this vault was a single skeleton in sitting posture, with a small 
earthen vessel near him. The mound was found near the mouth 
of the Little Iowa. We call attention to this arched roof. It 
was not a true arch, but was such an arch as is common in vari 
ous parts of the country. The Aztecs built arched corridors, but 
they built them in the same way that this rude vault, by pro 
jecting the layers of stone one above the other and projecting 
them out at the top until they met. The bee hive huts of Ire 
land were built in this way, but were without anv earth covering. 
We call attention to the sitting posture in this vaulted tomb. 
It is the common posture in tombs of this kind. V/e give cuts 
of this which show how the vaults were built. Figs. 15 and 16. 
Prof. Swallow has described a chambered mound which is 



Fig. 5. 



Fig. 6. 




Fig. 7. 



*See Smithsonian Report, 1873, p. 359. 



77 

very interesting. It is situated near New Madrid, and is called 
the Big Mound. It is elliptical in form, 600 feet in circumfer 
ence, 20 feet high; it contained a room which was lathed and 
plastered, not as modern rooms are, for there was no nailing of 
the lath, and the plaster was of mud rather than of lime. The 
room was built by putting poles together like the rafters of a 
house, then placing split cane on the poles and applying mud- 
plaster outside and inside. The inside plaster was covered with 
red ochre. The earth of the mound was placed over the rafters. 
The room contained bones, pottery vessels, jars, discoidal stones, 
polished celts, chisels, stone axes. The pottery vessels were, 
many of them, made in the shape of idols, mainly females, in a 
squatting posture. A pipe of sandstone in the shape of a frog, 
One hoe of brown flint was very large, II inches by 5. These 
relics are pronounced by Professor Putman as belonging to the 
mound period. They resemble those found by Mr. Dunning in 
the Tennessee mounds. The pottery taken from the mound is 
the largest collection ever found in one place, and is very inter 
esting, since it shows great skill in moulding pottery, and a great 
variety of form, too. 

We find, here, an approach to the modern style of building 
rooms, at least an advanced type of prehistoric structures. 
Square chambers with straight walls were uncommon among 
the Mound-builders, although they were quite common among 
the Cliff Dwellers and Pueblos. The plastering of rooms or 
apartments was also uncommon, although many plastered rooms 
Jiave been found among the Cliff Dwellers. It is possible there 
was a borrowing of ideas from the people of the west ; and that 
the tombs, like the pottery, owed their shape to the contact 
which the people ol Missouri had with these semi-civilized races. 
The pottery generally is without paint, but a few specimens have 
been found with painted ornamentation somewhat resembling the 
Pueblo pottery. 

V. We now turn to the stone cists. These resemble the 
stone chambers, and might be classed with triem, especially as 
the pottery found in connection with them is so similar. They 
are, however, found in another district, the district which is called 
Appalachian. These stone cists are, however, not confined to 
one district, but are scattered far and wide, some of them having 
been found in the State of Ohio, others in the State of Georgia, 
and many of them in Southern Illinois. In Georgia the stone 
cists have been found within the platform pyramids a very sin 
gular circumstance, considing the probable age and origin of 
these pyramids. Dr. Cyrus Thomas speaks of this as an item 
of much interest to archaeologists. He described one explored 
at Etowah, Barto County, which contained relics, although the 

*See 8th Annual Report of Peabody Museum page 20, and llth Annual Report 
page 316. 



78 

mound belonged to the southern type, as it was of modern 
origin. He thinks that these stone graves indicate a Shawnec 
or closely allied element, where we should expect to find only 
Creeks, or some branch of the Chahta-Muscogee family. He, 
however, draws the distinction between a small mound which 
was explored and the large platform mound which has become 
so celebrated, as well as between the relics contained in the 
small mound and those which were found in the large one. He 
states that the small mound contained relics which were not 
Cherokee in their origin. This would accord with history. The 
Shawnees were a very migratory tribe. They were found at one 
time on the Shawnee river in South Carolina; again on the Del 
aware river, and then on the Ohio river, in Shawneetown, and 
then on the Cumberland river, and at times wandered over 
Illinois. The stone graves seem to mark their track. Many of 
them were probably of modern origin, and their builders occu 
pied the district subsequent to other tribes. The people who 
were buried with vases are to whom the largest number of earth 
works belong. 

As to the earth-works, we would say that there are many 
kinds, but the typical work is the square enclosure which con 
tains burial mounds and pyramidal mounds in close contact, 
the pyramidal mounds having been the sites of the public edi 
fices, either council houses or rotundas, but the burial mounds 
having been used by the clans which occupied the enclosure, 
one clan or tribe following another, making the burial mounds 
to contain a record of the succession of tribes. This is an inter 
esting point. Tribes differ very much in their burial customs, 
and yet they resemble one another in the tribal organization and 
iVdomestic architecture so much that they could use the same earth 
works for defence and the same platform for council houses or 
rotundas, though the domiciliary mounds do not contain as dis 
tinct a record as the burial mounds. 







fn 
I 




CHAPTER VI. 



THE " SACRED ENCLOSURES" OF OHIO. 

SUN WORSHIP AND SEPRENT WORSHIP EMBODIED IN THEM. 

In treating of the Mound-builders works heretofore we ha\c 
divided them into several classes, and have stated that the differ 
ent classes were found in different districts, the effigy mounds in 
one, the burial mounds in another, the stockades in another, 
the so-called "sacred enclosures" in another, and the pyramid 
mounds in still another, the whole habitat being filled with 
works which were distinctive and peculiar, but which were al 
ways correlated to their surroundings. 

It may seem singular to some that we should thus divide the 
earth-works into these different classes, and should confine each 
class to a limited district, making them so distinct from one an 
other, but this only proves that the people who once inhabited 
the Mississippi valley, and whom we call Mound-builders, were 
far from being one people, but were very diverse in their char 
acter, and that their diversity expressed itself in their works, 
their religious belief, their tribal organization, their social customs, 
their domestic habits, their ethnic tastes, their modes of life, all 
having been embodied in the tokens which we are now studying. 
We are to bear this thought in mind whi-le we proceed to con 
sider the works which are said to belong to the fourth class, and 
which we have named " sacred enclosures". The region where 
these enclosures are most numerous is that which is situated on 
the Ohio River and more specifically in the southern part of the 
State of Ohio. We shall therefore confine ourselves to this dis 
trict, but would at the same time have it understood that it is 
because the works are here so typical that we treat them so ex 
clusively. 

We propose in this chapter to consider the works of this district 
with the especial view of enquiring about their character and 
their uses. 

I. Let us first enquire about the symbolism which is repre 
sented in them. The works of Southern Ohio have been regarded 
by many as symbolic, and the symbolism in them is said by 
some to be that expressive of sun worship. What is more, the 
sun worship which appeared here seems to have embodied itself 
in those works which were most common and which were also- 
very useful, the enclosures which are so numerous here having 
been symbolic. 

i. This, then, is our first enquiry, Is there anything in the shape 



82 

of the enclosures which should lead us to think that they were 
distinctive!? There are many kinds of earth-works in Southern 
Ohio, many of which are of the same character as those found 
elsewhere, but the most of them are works which might be 
called enclosures. These enclosures have a great variety of 
shapes, and were undoubtedly used for different purposes, though 
the purposes are now somewhat difficult to determine. The 
typical shape is perhaps that of the square and circle, though there 
are many circles without squares and squares without circles, the 
variation passing from one figure to the other. Many of the 
enclosures are irregular, with no definite shape; others, however, 
have shapes which are so definite and regular as to give the idea 
that they were symbolic the crescent, the circle, the horse-shoe, 
the ellipse, the cross, and many other symbols being embodied 
in them. Some of the enclosures are very large, the walls about 
them being several miles in length, giving the idea that they 
were used for defensive purposes; others are very small, the dis 
tance across them being only a few feet, giving the idea that they 
were lodge circles. Some of the enclosures are full of burial 
mounds; others contain no mounds whatever, but are mere open 
areas, areas which may have been used for village residences. 
Some of the enclosures are made up by single walls, walls on 
which possible stockades may have been erected; others have 
double walls, a ditch being between them. Some ol them are 
isolated circles, enclosures separated from all others; others pre 
sent circles in clusters, the clusters arranged in circles, so making 
an enclosure within an enclosure. It is remarkable that there 
should have been so many different shapes to the earth-works in 
this region. These shapes vary from the circle to the ellipse, 
from the ellipse to the oblong, from the oblong to the square, 
from the square to the large, irregular enclosure. A map ot the 
region looks like a chart which contains all the geometric figures, 
and astonishes one when he thinks that these are earth-works 
containing areas, all of which were once used for practical pur 
poses, and embodied the life of the people. See map of works in 
the Scioto valley. The uses to which these enclosures were subject 
are unknown ; it is supposed that some of them were for defenses ; 
others for villages; some of them were undoubtedly used for burial 
places; others for sacrificial purposes; some of them were the 
sites of houses, mere lodge circles; others were enclosures in 
which temples were undoubtedly erected; some of them were 
used as places of amusement, dance circles and race courses , 
others were probably used as places of religious assembly, estufas 
or sacred houses; some of them contain effigies, the effigies 
giving to them a religious significance. 

2. The symbolic character of the enclosures is the next point 
of enquiry. This has impressed many writers; for this reason they 
have been called sacred enclosures. The term has been criticised 



83 

and rejected by some, but it seems to us appropriate, and we 
shall use it as being expressive of the real character of the works 
of the region. We take up the enclosures of this district with 
the idea that many of them were used for sacred purposes, and 
that a peculiar superstition was embodied in the most of them. 
What that superstition was we are not quite prepared to say, but 
the conjecture is that sun worship here obtained in great force. 
It sometimes seems as if the sun worship was joined with ser 
pent worship, and that the phallic symbol was given by some of 
the earth -works. Whether these works were all used by one 
people, a people who were acquainted with all of the symbols 
spoken of, or were erected by successive races, one using one 
symbol and the other another, is a question. Be that as it may, 
we conclude that the district 
is full of earth-works which 
were symbolic in their char 
acter, and which are properly 
called sacred enclosures. 

We give a series of cuts to 
illustrate these points. These 
are actual earth-works. One 
is the temple platform, found 
at Marietta (Fig. i); the sec 
ond is a platform with the ad 
joining circular enclosure, 
found at Highbank (Fig. 2); 

the third is the Small Circle With ** -*W <* Marietta. 

the small enclosure within it, found opposite Portsmouth (Fig. 3). 
These earth-works are all small, ranging from 50 to 150 feet in 
diameter. The fourth is the large double enclosure consisting 
of the square and circle, found at Circleville (Fig. 4); the fifth is 
the large octagon and circle, found at Newark (Fig. 5). The last 
two enclosures might be measured by rods, as there are about 
as many rods in them as there are feet in the former works. The 
map of the works at Portsmouth (Fig. 6) contains many other 
figures, viz : Four concentric circles at one end, two horse-shoe 
enclosures and circles in the center, a large square enclosure at 
the west end, the whole making a very elaborate and complicatd 
system of symbolic works, the religious element being every 
where manifest in the locality. 

1 3. Let us next consider the symbols which we may regard 
as typical and peculiar to the district. We have said that there 
are different kinds of enclosures in this region, but the enclosure 
which is the most striking is the one composed of two figures 
the circle and the square and combination. This is not only 
common in the district, but is peculiar to it, as it is very seldom 
seen elsewhere. The reasons for this particular type of earth 
work being found in Southern Ohio are unknown. It would 




84 

seem, however, as if the people which formerly dwelt here had 
reached a particular stage of progress, had adopted a particular 
social organization, had practiced a particular set of customs, and 
had made these earth-works to be expressive of them. It some 
times seems also as if a peculiar religious cult had been adopted 
and that this was embodied and symbolized in the earth-works. 
The figures ot the square and circle were probably symbolic, and 
the religion which was embodied in them was probably sun 
worship. How sun worship came to be adopted by the people 
is a mystery. It may have arisen in connection with serpent 
worship, the two having been the outgrowth of the natural super 
stition, and so might be pronounced to be indigenous in this 
region, or they may have been introduced from other and distant 
localities, either from Great Britain, by way of the Atlantic 
Ocean, or from the Asiatic continent, by way of the Pacific 
Mexico and Central America having been the original starting 
point on this continent, and the cult having spread from the 

central place over the 
continent eastward. 
Prof. F. W. Putnam 
in his article on the 
great serpent takes 
the latter position, and 
says, "To this south 
western region, with 
its many Asiatic fea 
tures of art and faith, 
we are constantly 

Fig. 2. Platform and Circle at Highbank. forced by OUT investi 

gations as we look for the source of the builders of the older 
works of the Ohio Valley." He refers, however, to the com 
bination of natural features with artificial forms contained in the 
great serpent, and says this probably could not be found again 
in any part of the great route along which the people must have 
journeyed. He refers to the remarkable discovery by Dr. Phene 
of an interesting mound in Argyleshire, in Scotland, as contain 
ing the same elements, the natural hill and the artificial shape 
giving evidence of serpent worship in the serpent form, the altar 
or burial place at one end forming the head, and the standing 
stones along the ridge marking the serpent s spine. These facts 
would indicate that serpent worship in Ohio had come from 
Great Britain and had been first introduced by the mound-build 
ers here. Possibly the serpent worship in Mexico may have 
been introduced from the other side by way of Polynesia. 

4. The inquiry which we are to institute next is whether 
serpent worship and sun worship in Ohio were not prac 
ticed by two classes of people, the one the successors to the 
other. This inquiry will be borne in mind as we proceed to the 




85 



description ot the enclosures. The Natchez were sun worship 
ers. There is a tradition that the Natchez once inhabited Southern 
Ohio. The Dakotas had the serpent symbol among them. There 
is a tradition that the Dakotas once dwelt in Ohio. This would 
show that the two cults were successive rather than contempor 
aneous. It must be remembered that the symbolism of the early 
races of mound-builders was frequently combined with practical 
uses. The religion or superstition of the people required that 
defensive enclosures, as well as village sites, should embody the 
symbols as thoroughly as did the places of sacrifice or the burial 
places. The earth-works of Southern Ohio have been called 
sacred enclosures. If our supposition is true the term is a cor 
rect one. They were village enclosures, but were at the same 
time sacred to the sun. We shall take the enclosures which are 
typical and ask the question whether these were not the villages 
of sun worshippers. 

5. Let us examine the district, and compare it with other 
districts where sun worship 
has existed. We learn about 
the district and its limits 
from the character of the 
earth-works. This partic 
ular class of earth-works 
which we are describing is 
only found in a limited dis 
trict. We begin at the 
mouth of the Muskingum 
River, where are the inter 
esting works of Marietta. 
This river has a number of 
enclosures upon it. We pass 
next to the Hocking 
Creek, where the enclosures are not so numerous, and yet 
the same class of works abound here. Next comes the 
Scioto River, with its very interesting series of earth works, 
those at Portsmouth, Chillicothe and Circleville being the most 
prominent. Paint Creek and Brush Creek flow into the Scioto. 
On these there are some very interesting earth works, the 
majority of them being village enclosures. Next to this is 
Adams County, the County in which the great serpent is situated, 
the Brush Creek in this county being different from that which 
flows into the Scioto. We then pass over two or three counties 
until we reach the Little Miami River. Here we find the remark 
able fort called Fort Ancient, and at the mouth of the river, at 
Cincinnati, village enclosures. These enclosures are, to be sure, 
now destroyed, but descriptions of them have been preserved, 
and trom these we find that they were very similar to those 
situated on Paint Creek and on the Scioto River. Passing still 




Fig. 3. Circle at Portsmouth. 



86 



further to the west, we come to the Great Miami. The works on 
this river are mainly fortifications and large lookout mounds; 
the fortifications at Hamilton, Colerain and Piqua,and the look 
out at Miamisburg, being most prominent. There are, however, 
at Alexandria and several other places village enclosures of 
exactly the same type as those found at Chillicothe. This takes 
us across the State of Ohio. The White River is a branch of 
the Great Miami. It rises in the central part of the State of 
Indiana and flows southeast. The White River seems to have 
marked the boundary of this particular class of works. There 
are no village enclosures of the type found in Ohio west of the 
White River. If there are, we are not aware of their existence. 
There are, to be sure, many large forts or defensive enclosures 
scattered along the Ohio River on both sides, but they are not 
works which we would call village enclosures. These forts have 
been described by various writers, the most prominent of them 

being the one in Clark 
A County, near Charles- 

town, Ind., which has 
been described by Prof. 
E. T. Cox.* As to the 
northern boundary of 
the district, we find it 
on the watershed, where 
the rivers flow both 
ways, to the north and 
to the south. Here a 
line of earth-works is 
found extending across 
the State, about the same distance from the Ohio River. It makes 
a cordon of village enclosures, some of them being as important 
as any found in the State. Among these are the works at Circle- 
ville, Newark, Alexandersville, near Dayton, and the works on the 
White River, at Cambridge and New Garden, in Wayne County,! 
all of them being near the head of canoe navigation. 

We have thus given the map of the district. It is a map which 
thus includes all the earth-works military, sacred, village enclos 
ures, effigies, lookouts and all. We do not ascribe them all to 
one period nor to one race, but we speak of them as found in the 
district. The typical work is the enclosure, the village enclosures 
being more numerous than the defensive. We have thought 
best to call it by the name of the district of the village enclos 
ures, though the term sacred enclosures is appropriate. We see 
in this map the locality which was occupied by sun worshipers. 
It is also a locality in which serpent worship appeared to be 
prevalent. 




Fig. it. Circle and Square at Circleville. 



* Ree Geological Survey of Indiana, 1873, p. 122. 
tSee Geological Repoit of Indiana, 1878, descri] 



escriy-tion, Mr. J. C. McPberson. 



87 



6. Let us consider the symbolism in the shapes and sizes of the 
enclosures. We have said that the shape was that of the square 
and circle. This shape is everywhere present within the district, 
though with variations. It is remarkable that there should be 
such a uniformity. It does not seem likely that the uniformity 
would rise from accident, but it is more likely thatthere was a sig 
nificance to it. The uniformity has impressed many authors. 
The early explorers all mention it as a very striking element in 
the earth-works of the region. There has been a degree of 
skepticism in reference to "this point, but the recent survey by 
the Ethnological Bureau confirms the old impression. The 
statements of the early explorers are confirmed by the last sur 
vey. We give here a few 
fragmentary quotations to 
show that this is the case. 
The old authors claimed that 
the squares were perfect 
squares, the circles perfect 
circles. The new exploration 
seems to confirm this rather 
than to refute it. We take 
the enclosures in the Scioto 
Valley to illustrate. There 
are perhaps more typical 
works in this valley than any 
where else in the State. The 
following is the testimony of 
Dr. Thomas in reference to 
these. The circle at High- 
bank is a perfect one." " The 
old survey agrees closely with 
the new survey." "The circles 
at Paint Creek have geomet 
rical regularity." " The fig 
ures of the works which 

were personally examined by Squier and Davis are generally 
correct." "The circle at Highbank is similar in size and other re 
spects to the observatory circle at Newark, and, like that, is 
connected with an octagon." "We see in this group the tendency 
to combine circles, octagons and parallels as at Newark, making 
it probable that the works at both points are due to one people. 
According to Messrs. Squier and Davis the circle is a perfect 
one. The diameter, which, as will be seen by what follows, agrees 
very closely with the results of the re-survey." "The somewhat 
unexpected results in this and the observatory circle are, first, 
that the figure is so nearly a true circle, and, second, that the 
radius is an almost exact multiple of the surveyor s chain." These 
remarkable admissions are made by one who denies their Euro- 




pean origin and who makes them the work of Indians similar to 
the modern tribes, and who says there is nothing in the form or 
arrangement that is inconsistent with the Indian usages and 
ideas, and nothing in their form or construction consistent with 
the idea that their conception is due to European influence. With 
these admissions we are warranted in going back to the first 
descriptions which were given by the early explorers, and to 
speak of these works as perfect squares and perfect circles, and 
to draw our conclusions that they were symbolic as well as 
practical or useful structures. Mr. Atwater speaks of the circle 
in the village enclosures at Paint Creek, and says " the area of 
the squares was just twenty-seven acres." Squier and Davis also 
speak of this area of twenty-seven acres being a common one. 
The comparison is drawn by Squier and Davis between the 
works at Newark and those at Hopeton and Paint Creek. Ex 
traordinary coincidences are exhibited between the details, 
though the works are seventy miles apart. He says the square 
has the same area with the rectangle belonging to the Hopeton 
works and with the octagon belonging to Highbank. The octa 
gon has the same area with the large irregular square at Marietta, 
a place which is still further away from Newark. The conviction 
is forced upon us, notwithstanding all the skepticism that has 
existed, that there was a common measurement, and that the 
square and circle were symbolic, though we do not say whether 
they were erected by Indians or by some other people. 

7. Another argument is found in the fact that walls in the 
shape of crescents are very common. These crescent-shaped 
walls are generally found inside of the smaller circle and consti 
tute a double wall around a portion of the circle. There are 
also many works where there are concentric circles, containing 
a mound in the center, whose shape would indicate that it was 
devoted to sun worship and whose contents would prove that 
they were used for religious purposes. A notable specimen of 
this is found at Portsmouth, where there are four concentric cir 
cles and a mound in the center, the situation and height of the 
mound giving the impression to the early explorers that it was 
used for religious purposes and was a sun symbol. Concentric 
circles and circles containing crescents and mounds are also 
spoken of by Mr. Caleb Atwater as having been found at Paint 
Creek and at Circleville. The large irregular enclosure at one 
of these works contained seventy-seven acres, and had eight 
gateways, another had eighty-four acres and six gateways; but 
outside of one of these enclosures was a third circle sixty rods 
in diameter, in the center of which was a similar circle abcutsix 
rods in diameter, or about one tenth of the larger circle. Here 
we have the large enclosures which were undoubtedly used for 
village sites, but at the same time we have small circles that were 
probably used for religious purposes. 




MAP OF VILLAGE AT MARIETTA. 



89 

Mr. Atwater thinks that the large circles were used for re 
ligious as well as for practical purposes. He speaks of the 
circle at Circleville. This was sixty-nine rods in diameter, 
the walls were twenty feet high, measuring from the bottom 
of the ditch, there being two walls, one inside of the other, 
with a ditch between. Within the circle there was a round 
mound, ten feet high, thirty feet in diameter at the top, and around 
the mound a crescent-shaped pavement made of pebbles, about 
sixty feet in diameter. This mound contained two bodies and a 
number of relics. A large burial mound ninety feet high stood 
outside of the circle. The contrast between the circle and the 
square atrracted the attention of Mr. Atwater. The circle had 
two high walls, the square only one. The circle had a ditch be 
tween the walls, the square had no ditch. The circle had only 
one gateway, the square had eight gateways. The circle was 
picketed, "half way up the inner walls was a place where a row 
of pickets stood, pickets which were used for the defense of the 
circle." These facts are significant. They seem to indicate that 
the villages were surrounded by walls which secured them from 
attack; but that there was a symbolism in the shape of the walls 
as well as in the shape of the mounds and pavements and con 
tents of the mounds. In these respects the villages would be 
called sacred enclosures. 

8. Still another argument is derived from the variation in 
the typical torm. At Marietta we have two squares and no 
circle except as a circle surrounds the conical mound or lookout 
station. At Highbank and Hopeton we have the circle and the 
square, and several other small circles adjoining. At Liberty 
Township we have the square, three circles and a crescent. At 
Cedarbank we have a square with a platform inside of it, but no 
circle. At Newark we have the octagon instead of the square. 
At Clark s Works we have the square, a large irregular inclosure 
and the circle inside. At Seal Township we have the square 
and circle and several elliptical works. At Dunlap s Works we 
have the rhomboidal figure and a small circle adjoining. Still, 
the typical shape is the same throughout the entire region. 

II. We now turn to a new point. The inquiry is whether the 
enclosures which we have seen to be so symbolic were not the 
village sites of a class of sun worshipers. This inquiry will be 
conducted in an entirely different way from the former. We are 
now to look not so much for the symbolic shapes as for the 
practical uses. We maintain that whether they were symbolic 
or not the majority of the enclosures were used for villages. We 
shall first consider the characteristics of village enclosures gen 
erally, show what a village was supposed to contain, and then 
compare these in Ohio with others to show that they were also 
village enclosures. 

i. We turn to the Ohio villages, and are to ask what their 



90. 

characteristics are. These were composed of the following 
elements: First, the circumvallation, including the gateways; 
second, the contents, including the platform mounds, burial 
mounds, excavations and other works; third, the lodge circles 
adjoining the village enclosures, some of them constituting a 
third part of the village, scarcely separated from the larger 
enclosures, some of them being quite remote from the village; 
fourth, the parallel walls or covered ways. These were a very 
important element in connection with the village life. Fifth, the 
so-called embankments, which Atwater says were enclosures 
for diversion or for games, many of which were found at an 
early day in the valley of the Scioto, but which had disappeared 
before the survey of the works took place; sixth, the circles 
which are gathered in clusters at certain points, remote from 
the villages, which we call the dance circles; seventh, the look 
out mounds and observatories. These works were all associated 
and all served different parts in connection with village life. We 
see in them, ist, provisions for defense, the circumvallation 
giving defense to the villages, the covered ways also protecting 
the people as they went to and from the villages to the water s 
edge; the lookouts on the summits of the hills furnishing de 
fense for not only one village, but for many. We see, 2d, pro 
visions for religion. The character of the earth-works is 
suggestive of religious practices. They are, many of them, 
enclosures, symbolical in shape, elliptical, circular, pyram 
idal. Some of them were probably temples, the truncated pyr 
amids being the foundation platforms. The same office was 
filled by some of the smaller circles, for these were undoubtedly 
used for estufas, sweat houses, or assembly places, and many 
of them were convenient of access to the village enclosure. 
3d. The provisions made for amusement, feasts, dances can be 
recognized in the oblong embankments and the groups of small 
circles. 4th. The provision made for water is found in numer 
ous wells spoken of by the early explorers, and in the walls 
which surround them, and in certain ponds near the enclosures. 
5th. Provision was made for safe cultivation of fields in covered 
ways which passed out from the enclosure to the open country, 
and in the watch towers which were placed at the ends of these. 
There were many openings in the covered way, which gave 
egress from the villages to the fields in every direction. 6th. Pro 
vision was made for navigation and the safety of the canoes by 
running the covered ways down to the water s edge, and there 
making a grade, which should be like a levee, for the landing 
of the canoes. All these peculiarities indicate plainly that vil 
lage life was the factor which ruled. Everything was subser 
vient to this. 

If we take the number and sizes of the enclosures, and then 
look at their situation and all their surroundings, and consider 
the fertility of the plains in which they were located, we will 



5)1 

have a remarkable picture of village life. It seems almost like 
an Arcadia. The people seem to have been prosperous, and to 
have dwelt in peace and security. The population was dtnse. 
The organization was complete. Religion had its strong hold 
upon the people; the people lived and died and were buried 
with the sacred religious rites observed on all occasions. They 
rilled their altars with offerings to the great sun divinity. The 
most costly sacrifices were made; pipes and beads, carved stone, 
pearls, many precious works of art were thus consecrated with 
great ceremonials. But the scene changed. The invasion of 
an enemy drove them from their seats. Their villages became 
the seats of bloody warfare. They were obliged to leave their 
abodes; other tribes came in and occupied their villages. 

2. We now turn to the specific locations and give descrip 
tions of the works. We first commence with the works at 
Marietta and quote the language of the Rev. Dr. Harris, who 
with Rev. Dr. Cutler, examined them and furnished a full de 
scription of it. The following is their account: The situation 
of these works is on an elevated plain on the east side of the 
Muskingum, about half a mile from its junction with the Ohio. 
The largest square fort, by some called the town, contains forty 
acres, encompassed by a wall of earth from six to ten feet high, 
and from twenty-five to thirty-six feet in breadth. In each side 
are three openings, resembling twelve gateways. A covered 
way formed ot two parallel walls of earth 231 feet distant from 
each other, measuring from center to center. The walls at the 
most elevated part inside are twenty-one feet in height; the 
outside only average five feet in height. This formed a passage 
about 680 feet in length, leading by gradual descent to the low 
ground, where, at the time of its construction, it probably 
reached the river. The bottom is crowned in the center, in the 
manner of a well-founded turnpike road. Within the walls of 
the fort at the northwest corner is an elevated square 188 feet 
long, 132 broad, 9 high, level on the summit. At the center of 
each of the sides are gradual ascents sixty feet in length. Near 
the south wall is another elevated square, 150 by 120 feet, 8 
feet high; but instead of an ascent to go up on the side next the 
wall, there is a hollow way, ten feet wide, leading twenty feet 
toward the center, with a gradual slope to the top. At the 
other end is a third elevated square, 108x54 feet, with ascents 
at the end. At the southwest corner is a semi-circular parapet 
crowned with a mound, which guards the opening in the wall. 
The smaller fort, contains twenty acres, with a gateway in the 
center of each corner. These gateways are defended by circu 
lar mounds. On the outside of the smaller fort is a mound in 
the form of a sugar loaf, of a magnitude and height which strike 
the beholder with astonishment. It base is a regular circle, 115 
feet in diameter; its altitude is 30 feet. It is surrounded by a 
ditch 4 feet deep and 15 wide, and defended by a parapet 4 feet 



92 

high, through which is a gateway towards the fort 20 feet in 
width.* See Plate. 

The description of this one village will indicate the elements 
which were common in all the villages, the square enclosures, 
the graded ways, lookout mounds, protecting walls, wells, etc., 
being found in nearly every village. 

It shows also the religious ideas which were embodied in 
many of the village enclosures, the platform mounds and the 
circle about the lookout mounds having probably been used as 
symbols as well as defenses. This same combination of symbols 
with defenses is seen more fully in the elaborate system of works 
found at Portsmouth. These works seem to have been erected 
for purely religious purposes, and we recognize many symbols 
in them, the square at one end, the concentric circle at the other 
end, and the horse-shoe, the crescent and several other symbols 
in the central group, the whole connected by a wall seven or 
eight miles long. 

III. We now turn to the enclosures of Ohio, but are to con 
sider them in their defensive capacity. There are three pecu 
liarities to earth-works of this region, namely : the large major 
ity of them are enclosures; second, many of the enclosures are 
symbolic in shape, the circle and square being the most prevalent 
symbol ; third, the majority of the symbolic works are very 
strongly fortified, nearly every place which the sun worshipers 
occupied having been furnished with a strong and heavy earth 
wall, which served as a protection to them. The classification 
of the works of the sun worshipers reveals to us a great variety 
of uses, the most of them, however, being such uses as would 
be connected with village life. But with the uses we discover 
that defense was as much sought for as was convenience. It is 
remarkable that there were so many walled enclcsures in this 
region, but the fact that there was danger always threatening the 
people from a lurking foe will account for these. They needed 
to defend themselves on all occasions, and so they never resorted 
to a place of worship or amusement, they never went to a sac 
rificial place, they never even went to the fields or to the water s 
edge, but that they must have a wall to protect them. We have 
dwelt upon the symbolism which was embodied in their works, 
but we might dwell even longer upon the view of the defense 
provided by them. It will suffice, however, to say that symbol 
ism and defense were often united, the superstition about the 
symbol giving them a sense of security as much as the earth 
works gave them actual safety. We have only to look at the 
different works found in any one locality to see the wonderful 
combination. 

i. Let us ask what works there are and what uses we may dis- 

Harris sTour, p. KIH. 



93 

cover in them. We have first the village defenses. This we 
see was always protected by a circumvallation. This circumval- 
lation was generally in the shape of a square and a circle, but 
the circle was always protected by a high wall and sometimes by 
two such walls, and the openings in the wall of the square were 
always protected by a watch tower or additional platform guard 
on the inside. Second, there were near the villages many forti 
fied hill-tops, places to which the villagers could resort in times 
of attack. These fortified hills were generally located in the 
midst of several villages, so that they could be easily reached by 
all. Third, the sacrificial places and the places of religious 
assembly were always provided with circumvallations or long 
covered ways. Nothing of a religious nature was ever under 
taken unless the people could be protected by a wall. Fourth, 
we find that the sweat-houses, so-called, were always close by 
the village enclosure, but if, by any means, it was remote, there 
was always a covered way provided, so that it could be reached 
in safety from the village enclosure. Fifth, the same is true of 
the dance circles and places of amusement. These were some 
times remote from the village, but in all such cases there was a 
covered way between the village and the dance ground. Sixth, 
the fields were cultivated, but the fields were reached by passing 
through the parallels or covered ways, and lookout mounds or 
observatories were always provided to protect those at work and 
to sound the alarm to them. Seventh, there were landing places 
for canoes and places at which the villagers could reach the 
water s edge. These, however, were always protected by covered 
ways. Every village had its landing place, but nearly every 
landing place was furnished with a graded and a protected or 
covered way, the canoes being kept from the water and from the 
enemy by the same contrivance. Eighth, we find a few isolated 
enclosures. These are the parallels, supposed to have been used 
for races and other games. They, too, present the peculiarity of 
having a wall to protect them. The sacrificial or burial places 
were also isolated, but even the burial grounds were furnished 
with heavy earth- walls or circumvallations. The lookouts were 
also at times isolated from the villages, but even the lookout 
mounds were surrounded with circles to protect them, and some 
of them were connected with the village sites by covered ways. 
It would seem as if the people were not willing even to trust 
their sentinels or watchmen to the open fields or to risk the 
chance of his reaching an enclosure by rapid flight, but even he 
must be protected by a wall or covered way. 

This presents a new view of the earth-works of the region. It 
shows that the people realized their danger; that while they were 
peaceable themselves and were given to agriculture and to a 
peculiar religious cult, yet they were in the midst of a savage 
foe which was always lurking near. They remind us in this 



respect of the people who dwelt in the terraced villages of the 
West. They lived in villages and were peaceful and industrious, 
but needed always to guard their villages from sudden attack. 
The mound-builders of Ohio, then, and the Indians of later times 
were plainly very different from one another. 




The forts differ among themselves in many respects. Those 
which were erected by the original Mound-builders that is, the 
Mound-builders who occupied the village enclosures are much 
more elaborate thrn those built by the later tribes. The writer 
has discovered three classes of forts in this region. The first 
class belongs to village mound-builders, the second to mound- 
builders who were serpent-worshipers, the third to the race of 



95 

stockade builders. Each class had its own peculiar way of 
erecting fortifications. The fortifications are more distinctive in 
reality than village enclosures. The enclosures may have been 
occupied by two or three successive populations, the one erect 
ing the walls and giving to the enclosures the peculiar symbolic 
form of the square and circle, the other occupying the circles 
but placing within them, as signs of their presence, some partic 
ular effigy. The great serpent probably belongs to this race, the 
third race, who erected the stockade forts, but put no symbol 
ism into their works. The distinction between the first 
two is that one was a race of sun worshipers and the other of 
serpent worshipers, the sun symbol being frequently embodied 
in the earth works which are connected with the village enclos 
ures, but the serpent symbols being embodied in the walls which 
surrounded the fortifications built by the other race. We have 
the two classes represented in a single fort, that at Fort Ancient. 
The upper fort, which is called the new fort, but which in reality 
may have been the older of the two, has all the characteristics 
oi the village enclosures. It walls are high and angular, well 
defined and furnished with massive gateways, all showing a high 
degree of architectural skill, the crescent being the only symbol 
contained within it. The lower or southern fort, which is called 
the old fort, differs from this in all respects. The walls are 
ruder, the gateways smaller, the scene wilder, and the symbolism 
stranger and more mysterious. This part, the writer maintains, 
embodied the symbol of the serpent in its walls, the superstition 
of the people being that the form of the serpent in some way 
gave protection to the people. We ascribe to the first class, that 
is, to the village people, the forts at Bourneville. at Hamilton, at 
Massey s Creek, and on the north fork of Paint Creek, called 
Clark s Works ; to the second class, we ascribe the Colerain 
Works and the fort north of Hamilton, leaving the Fort Hill, in 
Highland County, doubtful; to the third class the stockade 
builders we ascribe the fort near Granville, those at Four-mile 
Creek and Seven-mile Creek and Big Run. and several of the 
works near Hamilton, in Butler County. The peculiarity of the 
forts of the village people is that there were very elaborate gate 
ways, the walls being very sharply defined, and having re-entering 
angles, some of them being provided with double and triple earth 
works as guards for the entrances. Two of the entrances are 
furnished with what is called the Tlascalan gateway, and the 
other furnished with a most elaborate system of embankments, 
six different semi-circular walls being arranged around a single 
opening, to protect it from the entrance of an enemy. The 
gateways of the race of serpent-worshipers were provided with 
walls in the shape of serpents, and serpents heads, but with no 
other contrivances except this symbol to guard them. 

This brief review of the forts as related to the symbolism 



will give to us an idea as to the great variety of earth works 
found in Southern Ohio. They are all of them enclosures, some 
of them having been used for defenses, others for villages, others 
for burial places, others as council houses, and as dance circles, 
and a few perhaps merely as symbols. The peculiarity of all is 
that they have earth walls which enclose areas, though there are 
conical mounds or solid structures either in the areas or on high 
land overlooking the areas. These enclosures bring before us a 
picture of the native society as it once existed. It is evident 
that the population at one time was very dense, probably much 
denser in the time of the early mound-builders than at any time 
since. The people were then in a peaceful and sedentary condi 
tion. They were agriculturists. They placed their villages in 
the midst of the rich agricultural country and surrounded them 
with walls, and in some cases built walls which would, in a meas 
ure, surround their fields, or at least protect the people in going 
to and from them. The forts were placed in the midst of their 
villages on high ground, where there would be a natural defense, 
the cliffs being precipitous. In case of a sudden incursion the 
people might leave their villages and resort to the forts. Their 
villages were situated upon the rivers and were connected 
with the river s bank by covered ways. They navigated the 
rivers by canoes and had landing places for them near their vil 
lages. Their villages were sometimes close together, giving the 
idea that the clans inhabiting them were friendly to one another. 
At other times the villages are isolated and wide apart, giving 
the idea that the people sought room for hunting as well as fer 
tile spots for agriculture. The villages, however, were all walled 
and the most of them had walled approaches, giving the idea 
thai- they were liable to be attacked by a lurking foe, and that 
they continued their pursuits with this constant sense of danger 
in their minds. Everything impresses us with the thought that 
the Indians were foes to the mound-builders, and that the mound- 
builders were well acquainted with Indian ways, the two classes 
Indians and mound-builders being very similar in their ways 
and modes of life, though their symbolism was different. 




STONE GRAVES IN FORT ANCIENT, OHIO. 







BEE-HIVE TOMBS IN CALDWELL COUNTY. N. C. 



97 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE STONE GRAVE PEOPLE. 

One of the signs of the progress which archaeology is making 
in this country is that so many new fields are constantly opening 
and so many new discoveries are being made ; but the old prob 
lems are returning for new solutions. This is as it should be. 
The science is one that can not be finished in a day, nor can we 
even hope to safely lay its foundations until many facts have 
been accumulated and the material which is gathered has been 
well sifted. The student may be slow in passing over the rudi 
ments, but it is very likely that his scholarship will be all the 
better and the results in the end be surer and more satisfactory 
if he often returns to the same lesson. This is especially true 
of the Mound-builder problem. So many have inclined to jump 
at conclusions in reference to this question, so many have ad 
vanced theories without waiting for sufficient evidence to sub 
stantiate their positions, that it seems hopeful when new facts are 
brought to light and the old subject is brought up again for 
reconsideration. 

We are to speak in this paper of the stone grave people, but 
would, before we begin, call attention to the various opinions 
which have beer, advanced in reference to them. A few years 
ago, when their works were first discovered, it was reported that 
a race of pigmies had been found. The report, of course, ex 
cited much curiosity, and it was thought that a great mystery 
had been uncovered. The process of investigation, however, 
went on, and it was soon ascertained that the pigmies were only 
the children of people who had been accustomed to bury in 
graves made from stone slabs, but they were people like other 
aborigines in America. The mystery, however, had scarcely 
been cleared up and the error corrected before there arose an 
other opinion, which also excited much attention. This opinion 
was at the time advocated by persons in authority, and was 
therefore quite generally adopted. It was at the opposite extreme 
from the one which preceded it. There was now no mystery about 
the Mound-builders ; they were only common Indians. We must 
class them all with the aborigines. The stone graves belonged to 
one tribe of Indians. The Mound-builders of Ohio were another 
tribe, the Cherokees. 

A third stage of investigation, however, is now before us, and 
the same problem is coming up again for solution, It yet remains 



to be seen how much of truth there is in the position last taken 
and whether any of it really deserves to go into history, or 
whether some other position is yet to be reached, which will 
prove more satisfactory and some conclusion which shall be 
more permanent. The pendulum which has been swinging 
backward and forward may indeed mark progress, but we are 
not certain about the significance of the figure on the dial. It 
certainly may be doubted whether the clock has yet reached the 
striking place, nor have we reached any permanent conclusion. 
Many new discoveries have recently been made, new fields have 
been opened, and various books and publications have appeared, 
and now the whole subject is again up for contention. 

An array of new facts is before us, and we may expect the 
opinion to turn towards new evidence. The Mound-builders 
were an ancient people. They resembled the modern Indians, 
but the Mound-builders period was distinctive. One error was 
detected when it was proved that the Mound-builders were not 
a civilized people, but another error came to the surface when it 
was maintained that the modern Indian is the only representative 
of the mound-building period. The truth is between them ; 
neither in the civilized nor in savage races do we find the picture 
for which we are seeking. The Mound-builder belongs to neither 
of these classes, but their real status was between the two ex 
tremes. Three periods may be ascribed to the prehistoric age in 
America. First comes the paleolithic period, with its rude con 
dition; next comes the mound-building period, with its varied 
record; lastly, the period of the red Indian; then comes the 
date of history. History treats of the modern races, ethnol 
ogy may treat of the more ancient peoples, but the science 
of archaeology has much in store which may modify our conclu 
sions. The living tribes have but recently disappeared, other 
tribes preceded them, and the record goes back into the remote 
centuries. We have not by any means reached the end of our 
studies Things are to be discovered that have not yet been 
put on the record. The Mound-builder problem is not solved. 
New factors are constantly coming up and we leave ourselves 
open to new evidence. 

We not only go bacjc of the historic period and look for the 
prehistoric races which have left their tokens on the soil, but we 
are also to go back of one prehistoric period and find the traces 
of a period and race which still preceded them, and so make the 
record complete. While ethnology, treating of the living tribes, 
may help us to understand the character of the tribes and races 
which preceded them, the archaeological tokens are to be most 
relied upon for our evidence. The archaeological evidence is to 
be sifted, and we are to discriminate until we shall know the 
differences between all the races. It does not seem to be so im 
portant to identify any known tribe with the tokens of any one 



99 

locality, or to distinguish between the tribes and races which 
may have occupied each locality, and make the characteristics of 
each our especial study. 

The present chapter is devoted to a single class of people, to a 
single period of occupation, to a particular type of aboriginal 
civilization, and to a particular locality, and yet there are many 
questions which arise in connection with them. We have chosen 
the stone grave people for our study. Some may think them 
modern, and imagine we are studying the works of historic In 
dians. Others consider them purely prehistoric and illustrative 
of one phase of prehistoric civilization. They are, however, 
only one out of many. The soil of America is filled with the 
records of many such races. Our work is to study the records 
and to see the difference between them. 

The subdivision of the Mound-builders territory, and the dis 
tinction between the mound-building classes, we may regard as 
already established, and the succession of races in each locality is 
rapidly becoming recognized, and we may expect soon to distin 
guish the races and to recognize not only the periods but also 
to see the diversity which existed among the races. We go 
back of the historic period to ascertain the origin of the Amer 
ican Indians, but we go back of one prehistoric period to the 
tokens of another to ascertain the origin of the Mound-builders. 
But after all this, we know very little about the peopling of 
America. Perhaps we shall find that the races were autochtho 
nous in this country, and trace the clue back from the Indians to 
the stone graves, and from the stone graves to the mounds and 
shell heaps, and from the mounds and shell heaps to the cave- 
dwellings, and from the cave-dwellings to the gravel beds, but 
for the present we wait for evidence. Possibly we may trace the 
population of this country to other lands and be led to recog 
nize the waves of migration in the very relics which have been 
left beneath the surface. We leave ourselves open to conviction 
in either direction. We welcome the new discoveries and wait 
for the solution of the many problems. 

Our subject will lead us first tc a view of the habitat of this 
people; second, to the study of their characteristics, especially 
as they are made known by their relics; third, to the question of 
portraits, especially as it is brought before us by their pottery ; 
fourth, to an examination of their symbols; fifth, to the enquiry 
whether we have evidence of a foreign origin and race connection. 

The subject is somewhat difficult, the facts are remote, but the 
points are suggestive and the discussion interesting. We would 
say, however, that we have been greatly aided by the perusal of 
the pages of that interesting book which has been prepared by 
Gates P. Thruston, who has made a close study of the works and 
relics of this people, and we shall quote from the book, seeking, 
however, to give credit for all the essential facts and discoveries. 



100 

I. As to the habitat of the stone grave people, we have already 
said that this was to be found mainly in Middle Tennessee and 
in the valley of the Cumberland, though it may be supposed to 
have extended in either direction and possibly reached even the 
adjoining states. It was a peculiarly isolated region, remote from 
the routes of the early explorers, and for this reason its inhabi 
tants for many years remained without notice from the historians. 
We are impressed with several facts in reference to the territory. 
( i ) It was peculiarly favorable to the development of an aboriginal 
condition, such as is now found represented by the works and 
relics which are being studied so attentively. (2) It was a region 
which was occupied at different periods by a homogenous popu 
lation, who for the most part followed the same general mode of 
life and filled about the same grade of civilization. (3) It was a 
region through which the different populations of the Gulf States 
made their way northward into the valley of the Ohio, leaving 
on their way the tokens of their presence. (4) It was a region 
in which peculiar tribal customs seemed to have grown up and 
become established. (5) It was a region in which the tokens 
of a teeming population abound in unusual numbers, and there 
fore furnishes a very favorable field of investigation. (6) It is a 
region where pyramids of an inferior kind were associated with 
lodge circles and fortified village sites, but where the burial 
places took a peculiar character. (7) It was the region which, 
though lying between the habitat of the historic tribes of Indians 
the Cherokees and Natchez had a population which, so far as 
tribal history is concerned, may be regarded as still unknown. 
(8) It was a habitat which was once occupied by a peaceable 
and sedentary people, but was invaded by a savage foe some 
time about the date of the opening of history, a foe which was 
probably allied to the red Indian hunters of the north, and who 
may have been the Shawnees, who were themselves late comers 
in the Mississippi Valley, but who never reached the grade of the 
civilization of the people whose territory they invaded. (9) It 
is a region in which the Alleghans or Cherokees, the Algonkins 
or Shawnees, and the Natchez or Chickasaws, a branch of the 
Muskogees, were once the occupants, all of them belonging to 
different races. (10) It is a region full of the Mound-builder 
symbols. We shall take these points, its isolation, the obscurity 
of history concerning it, the evidence of growth and development 
during prehistoric times, and the abundance of archaeological 
tokens, as being proof that the people belonged to the mound- 
building period, and that their territory constituted one more 
division of mound-building territory. We are, to be sure, now 
among the southern mound-builders type, and yet it is a type 
which is not found elsewhere. 

Such are the impressions which we have gained from a study 
of the locality and its tokens. There are, however, impressions 



101 



which others have also gained, and we here take pleasure in 
quoting the opinions of the various authors who have written on 
the subject, thus giving both sides, and leaving the reader to 
judge for himself. 

The following words from General Thruston s book will ex 
press one thought now before us: "About fifty years after 
the discovery, DeSoto and his army (in 1540 A. D.) pushed 
along its southern border, rudely startling the native inhabitants, 
but they passed on across the great river and probably never 
came within the actual borders of Tennessee. A hundred and 
thirty years then elapsed and no European stepped within its 
limits. In 1673 Marquette came in his shallow bark, floating 
down upon the broad waters, its first white explorer. Nearly 
another century intervened 
before the hardy pioneer of 
Virginia scaled the moun 
tain or Daniel Boone start 
ed on the wilderness trail 
for the far west. In all these 
years Tennessee, infolded 
in her ancient forests and 
mountain barriers, in her 
isolation, remote from lake, 
ocean and gulf, was as un 
known to the outer world 
as Central Africa. France 
claimed her territory as a 
part of Louisiana and 
Illinois, Spain called it 
Florida and set up her 
right, England assumed sovereignty over it as a part of Virginia 
and California; but none of them took possession. Even the 
Indians had to fight for their titles. Vincennes in Indiana, 
Kaskaskia in Illinois, and New Orleans were founded ; Texas 
and Missouri were colonized; Santa Fe in New Mexico, a thou 
sand miles to the west, had become an old Spanish town ; yet 
Tennessee was still without a name or description, save that it 
was marked on the New World s maps as the unexplored land 
of the Shawnees. These facts are stated to show how little his 
tory can tell us directly of ancient Tennessee or of the stone 
grave race." 

The same author has spoken of the rise and fall of that peculiar 
grade of civilization which found its embodiment in the stone 
graves in the following words: "The primitive manifestations 
of industry and art found among the remains in the Cumberland 
and Tennessee Valleys and in adjacent States were evidently in 
the main of indigenous growth. They may have been the result 
of centuries of gradual development within these borders, or 




Fig. 1. Wolf s Head. 



102 



they may have had an origin in part through migration or inter 
tribal intercourse from the sedentary or village Indians of New 
or Old Mexico. We are inclined to the latter view. It is diffi 
cult to ascertain the exact relation of the stone grave race of 
Tennessee and its kindred of the neighboring States to the his 
toric red Indians." Whether the fort-builders and pottery-makers 
of the Cumberland and of the Tennessee were overwhelmed and 
dispersed, and became practically extinct, or whether they were 
absorbed by the more powerful and savage conquerors and became 
members of the Shawnees, Natchez or other tribes by adoption, 

may never be known. There 
is no mystery in the disap 
pearance of some of the 
mound-building aborigines. 
Scores of tribes have be 
come extinct during the last 
three centuries. The Shaw 
nees have had a pathetic 
history. Dr. Brinton calls 
them the " Gypsies of the 
forest." Their eccentric 
wanderings, their sudden 
appearance and disappear 
ance, perplex the antiquar 
ian and defy research. We 
first find them in actual 
history about the year 1660 
along the Tennessee and 
Cumberland Rivers. Fora 
century or more they held 
their sway. Their territory 
extended from the Ohio to 
the Tennessee, but they 
were never in security. They 
were never at peace. The 
Iroquois preyed upon them from the north, the Chickasaws and 
Choctaws from the south and the Cherokees from the east, until 
they were finally overwhelmed and scattered, and fled beyond 
the Ohio. For sixty years before its first settlement by the whites 
Tennessee was an uninhabited wilderness. Such is the history of 
the region which we call the habitat of the stone grave people 
a history, however, which contrasts with the archaeology ot the 
same region. 

The same author says : " Passing from the brief historical view 
to the interesting problems attaching to the origin of the ancient 
mound and grave builders of Tennessee, their race relation, their 
tribal affinities, and their culture status in the scale of civiliza 
tion, as represented by their monuments and art, we enter upon 




Fig. 2. Pottery Portrait from Stone Grave. 



103 



more uncertain ground. The stone graves are not always found 
in cemeteries or large groups. Their location upon almost every 
farm in the central counties indicates not only the presence of 
a very large population, but that it was generally widely distrib 
uted throughout the country, probably in peaceful settlements 
through a long period of time, thus doubtless enabling the 
ancient race to make progress in the simpler arts and industries 
beyond the status of the more savage tribes," 

II. We ask, in view of these facts, whether we shall class 
the stone grave people with the historic Indians or with the pre 
historic? whether the 
facts of archaeology do 
not lead us to a period 
more remote than that 
of which history [has 
the record, and to iden 
tify the people with the 
ancient mound-build 
ers rather than with 
any known tribe of 
historic Indians ? 

We here call at 
tention to the descrip 
tion of the relics and 
implements abound 
ing in East Tennessee. 
Many of the ancient 
flint pits and quarries, 
and the remains of the 
old work-shops, are 
still to be seen. Flint, 
iasper, chert and sili- 
cious limestone were 
generally used, but ar 
rows and|implements 
are found of chalcedony, transparent quartz, and quartziferous 
and other stone. Fine examples of the work of the old arrow- 
makers are shown. They are similar to the delicate arrow-points 
found in Mexico and along the Pacific coast. There seems to 
be no limit to the arrow-points. The village Indians, who dwelt 
in forts, towns and settlements, must have been sufficiently ad 
vanced to have known the use of a variety of implements. Sets 
of tools of chipped and polished stone, evidently the outfit of 
some ancient lapsidary or artisan, are occasionally found lying 
together in the same grave. Caches of new flints or cherts in 
large numbers are also found, apparently just as they left the 
worshop of some old "stone chipper". Eight well made imple 
ments of various forms, all polished by use, were found in a 




Fig. 3. Portrait Pipe, Indian. 



104 

grave, lying beside three useful implements of bone. Another 
set, mainly sharp stone chisels and a horn handle, with a deep 
socket, were found in a neighboring grave. An agricultural hoe 
of flinty chert, 8 inches long, is in Mr. J. G. Cisco s collection. 
A large, perfect, fan-shaped axe or adze, I2j inches long and 8 
wide, was found in Stewart County. A handsome leaf-shaped 
implement from Davidson County is nearly 14 inches long. It 
is a turtle-back, or adze-shaped. A paddle-shaped flint, glossy 
with use at the blade end, is io l / 2 inches long and very symmet 
rical, slightly curved or adze-shaped, is as delicately chipped as 
any spear-head. Many scrapers, spoon-shaped, with blunt ends 
and concave at one side, are discovered. Chipped stone chisels, 
chipped to a sharp edge, with square corners at the blade and 
notched at the upper end, and other chisels with the handle end 




Fig. 4. Pottery Portrait from Arkansas. 

rounded as if for holding in the hands, are shown. A set of five 
chisels that evidently had handles oi wood, sharp as a table-knife 
at the blade end, is described. These flint types seem to indicate 
a condition of society and of the industrial arts above the ordin 
ary stone hammer and spear stage of barbarism. A flint knife 
7 inches long, and the horn handle, the end pierced with holes, 
in which the string was fastened to that, aided in binding the 
knife, were found in a grave near Nashville. Other knives, with 
round curved edge and notched at the end; stone hatchets, with 
wide spreading flanges at the blade ends ; others with curved 
edges and straight sides, designed for hafting, Flint daggers 
with long tapering blade, and guards above the blade, like dirk 
knives of modern style, are seen. A double-barbed spear-head, 
one notched; a sword made from chipped flint, 22 inches long 
and 2 inches wide, was found beside a skeleton, put within the 
very bones of the hand, as if a tribute to his rank or as a badge 
of distinction in the spirit-land. A scepter fourteen inches 
long, and another seventeen inches and three quarters long and 



105 

three and a half inches wide, evidently emblems of authority, 
are described. 

The only flint implements in America, north of Mexico, rival 
ling these fine implements from Tennessee have been discovered 
in the ancient graves of the California Indians, but the largest 
one of these is only 9^ inches long, though one from Oregon 
is said to be 13 inches long. Three magnificent chipped stone 
implements, with ornamented handles, were found in a cache 
together. They offer direct and very positive evidence that they 
were used for ceremonial purposes of a religious, military or 
public character the scepters or royal maces once used by the 
magnates of the race that built the ancient mounds and fortifica 
tions of Middle Tennessee. The most distinguished personage 




Fig. 5. Stone Image from Clarksville, Tennessee. 

of the stone grave race yet identified the honored chieftain or 
priest whose remains were unearthed in the Harpeth River, was 
placed in his sarcophagus with a large flint sword in his right 
hand. 

The totem marks, the number of feather plumes, the battle-axe 
or war-club, the engraved brooch plates, the upholding ot the pipe 
of peace, were ensignia or symbols of rank or authority every 
where used and respected. A fine scepter, a splendid specimen 
of ancient art, wider at the hilt points, and shorter in the blade, 
but finely decorated with curved or crescent-shaped guards, is 
described. It was not intended for cutlery, but was probably 
used as a halberd or mace. Mr. Thruston says : We have never 
seen a specimen of aboriginal art from the valley of the Missis 
sippi superior to this fine flint. It was found twenty miles north 
of Nashville, near the ancient fortifications situated there. 



106 

Such are the relics which have recently been discovered and 
which have been described in this new and valuable book. We 
ask again, in view of this, whether we shall not conclude that 
the stone grave people belonged to that class of mound-builders 
which was superior to the red hunter Indian, and that the theory 
about the Shawnees being their fabricators is a mistaken one. 

III. The same impression is also drawn from an examina 
tion of the pottery portraits. We may say that in no part of 
the country has so much pottery been found as in this district. 
The only other district in which any similar amount has been 
found is that which is situated immediately west and northwest 
of this, in Arkansas and Missouri New Madrid, Missouri, being 
the chief seat of the ancient pottery-makers. Many authors 





Fig.6. Female Portrait. Fin. 7. Male Portrait. 

have spoken of this fact as if it was significant. The general 
impression seems to be that the people of the two districts were 
in the same general grade of culture and had reached the same 
stage of art. How this can be reconciled with the theory that 
the stone grave people were Shawnees we do not undertake to 
say. There is no evidence of the use of the wheel or lathe. 
The ware is hand made. Clay trowels were used in smooth 
ing and rounding the open vessels. The vitreous glaze was 
unknown to the potters. In this respect, the pottery of the 
Mound-builders differed from that of Central America The 
Pueblo Indians had no knowledge of it, but the ancient ware 
of Mexico shows this. The pottery from the stone graves 
was hardened by fire. Some of the vessels ring as if they were 
made of metal. The decline of the potters art among historic 
tribes is well known. The wild Indians do not often manufac 
ture pottery, but the Pueblo Indians still continue the art. The 
stone grave people seem to have had much skill in decorating 
pottery. They used pigment dyes in giving different colors to 
the clay, and they burned different colors into the vessels. Many 



107 

of the specimens of pottery are decorated with animal figures. 
They show much skill in imitating animal life. One specimen 
is described by Gen. Thruston, The cut is furnished to illustrate 
this paper. It represents a panther or wolf, or some animal that 
is suggestive of ferocity. See Fig. I. The majority of the 
specimens of pottery are those which were used for domestic 
purposes, though there are pipes and other articles which are 
made of pottery and are highly ornamental. 

Domestic pottery comprised all kinds of vessels, some of them 
in the shape of urns, bowls, pots, vases, shallow dishes, deep 




Fig. 8. Heads Used as Handles for Dishes. 

dishes, bottles, jars, vessels for cooking food as well as for hold 
ing water, and for other domestic purposes. It would seem as 
if the domestic life of the people was brought before us by this 
pottery which was burned with the bodies. There are also 
many jars and other vessels which were made in imitative shape, 
the ordinary wild animals and wild fowls being the objects 
most commonly imitated. There are many pottery vessels, 
however, which might be called idols, as they are in the shape 
of human images. These images are very interesting as objects 
of study, as they furnish an idea as to the different types effaces 
which were probably common among the people of this region. 
We notice that some of these faces resemble the modern Indian 
of the northern type; others are very different, however, from 
any Indian face which is likely to be recognized in these days. 
The question arises whether these faces all belong to one people 
or were they proofs of a great mixture in the population of 



108 

those days. We call attention to the contrasts between the 
faces. We take the terra cotta head from the cemetery at 
Nashville and the female head from the same cemetery, and 
place them alongside of the image pipe found near Kingston, 
Tennessee, representing a kneeling human figure. See Figs. 
2 and 3. The contrast between these faces will, we think, be 
recognized at once. "The material of which the pipe is com 
posed is reddish-brown stone, probably jasper. It is eight inches 
in height. The head-dress is unique and remarkable. The 
face is peculiar, and is sombre in expression, but the high cheek 
bones and long nose seem to represent the red Indian type. The 
long, pointed ear-rings on each side are well carved and orig 
inal." The difference between the pottery faces from the cemetery 





Fig. 9. Pottery Heads Used as Handles. 

and the pipe portrait, we think, will illustrate the point we are 
arguing. The southern mound-builders, whoever they were, 
seem to belong to a different race from the ordinary Indians. We 
would take one face to be the face of a Briton and not a North 
American Indian, and the question arises whether some of these 
southern tribes may not yet be traced back to the early Britons 
or Basques. 

Two other faces are presented for examination. We call 
attention to the contrasts between them. One of these is found 
on the surface of a bowl discovered in a mound on the St. Francis 
River in Arkansas. See Fig. 4. It is called the "Riggs" face 
bowl, from the name of the person who first discovered it. A 
large image of marble or crystalline lime-stone was found by 
Mr. H. L. Johnson, of Clarksville, Tennessee. See Fig. 5. The 
features of the face are the heavy, Ethiopian cast. Other images 
similar to this, with still more marked Ethiopian or Aztec 
features, have been described and depicted by Mr. Thruston in 
his book. The question which we ask in connection with these 
four pictures is whether there was not a difference between the 
idols and the portraits, each of them being significant of a dis- 



109; 

tinct race, the vases being of the ancient type and the portrait 
pipes being modern Indian. Two more figures are pre 
sented, one of them a terra cotta image, with the face ot a 
female, quite delicate in feature a handsome face; the other a 
strong, manly face; both are from the stone graves. See Figs. 6 
and 7. They show the features of the people. Three more 
terra cotta heads are presented in the next cuts. See Figs. 8 
and 9. These are the handles of terra cotta bowls, modeled in 
imitation of the human head. They are valuable as illustrating 
two or three important points. They may not have been exact 
imitations of the faces of the stone grave people, yet we think 
that they give some idea as to how these people looked. They 
also show the style of head-dress which was common among 
the people. 





Fig. 10. Pottery Heads Used as Handles. 

The head-dresses in the pottery handles are apparently full of 
symbols, and what is more the symbols are very similar to those 
found in the shell gorgets and have a general resemblance to 
those discovered in Mexico and Central America. 

We ask the question, in view of these portraits and the 
imitative skill which they exhibit, whether any northern Indian 
of the hunter class was likely to have been the manufacturer of 
them. We ask further whether the contrast in the features 
does not lead us to the recognition of different races among the 
mound-builders? Shall we not trace the races back to different 
stocks and families, some of them to the Mongolians, some of 
them to the Basques, some of them to the Malays. 

IV. We now come to the evidence furnished by the burial 
customs, (i) The first fact which is brought to our atten 
tion is that a new material seems to be used in the structures. In 
all other districts earth was the material employed, but here 
stone seems to have been used. The structures of the Mound- 
builders are generally earth-works. Earth is the material used 



110 

even in the tombs, the large majority of the burial mounds, 
especially in the northern districts, having been constructed of 
mere earth, some of them stratified and some of them unstrati- 
fied. There are, to be sure, burial mounds in Ohio which contain 
within them chambers formed from logs, the dead having been 
placed in these as if they were chambers in which they rested. 
There are also, as we have seen, certain vaults constructed from 
stone, some of them being arched, others with square angles. 
Specimens of these are found in Illinois and Missouri. Dr. Cyrus 
Thomas speaks of the burial pits which were found in North 
Carolina. These pits contain conical stone chambers, some of 
them being built over the body the body being in a standing 




Fig. 11. Panther Pipe from Carthage, Mo. 

attitude but others being lower and having the body in a sit 
ting posture. Dr. Thomas has ascribed these to the Cherokees 
and thinks that they may have been modern in their origin. In 
none of the other districts, however, do we find the use of stone 
so common as in this, and in none are stone graves so numerous. 
(2) The second peculiarity which we notice is this : the graves 
are built in tiers, one above the other, each tier being drawn in 
so as to make a pyramid or cone, the whole heap having been 
ultimately covered with earth, and so a mound which externally 
resembles other mounds was the result. This was a novel method 
of constructing mounds out of tombs, and is peculiar to this 
region. There are, to be sure, a few mounds constructed some 
what after this pattern a tomb of logs above another tomb being 
found in them. This is a different type, however, and must 
have been built by an entirely different class of people. The 
Grave Creek mound is a specimen of this kind. It was a large, 
high conical mound, and contained two chambers, one above 
the other; but the chambers contained a few bodies, with the 
relics, showing that an unusual personage was buried there. The 



Ill 

stone graves which are found in Ohio and Illinois are not built in 
tiers, but are merely cists which are arranged on the same level, 
either disconnectedly or in rows. The majority of these are 
covered with mounds, but sometimes are placed above the sur 
face and covered with a thin layer of soil. Mr. W. K. Moore- 
head found stone graves in the south enclosure of Fort Ancient, 
and has a cut of the same, which he has kindly loaned us. 

3 Another peculiarity oi the stone graves is that there was so 
much religious symbolism embodied in them.* The graves 
were arranged in a circle around a space in which a fire was 
contained. The bodies were placed in the graves, with the head 
out and the feet toward the fire. At the head of the bodies, near 
the outside of the mounds, was a circle of urns, thus making a 
series of concentric circles, which remind us of the circles on the 
shell gorgets which are sometimes buried with the bodies. In 
some of the graves there were jars at the feet of the skeletons 
and pipes in the hands. The pipes found in the stone graves 
were generally duck pipes, for the duck" seems to have been 
the common totem of the stone grave people. There are no 
duck pipes in the Ohio mounds, though there are many imita 
tions of other birds and animals. 

The pottery in the stone graves are often adorned with ducks 
heads and tails for handles, the vessel making the body. Many 
are in imitation of fish, frogs and coons, the body of the fish 
constituting the receptacle. 

4. Gen. Thruston has spoken of the typical short skulls in the 
Tennessee mounds, and has compared them to the Cliff-dwellers 
and Peruvians. Mr. Lucien Carr says that there are no flat 
tened skulls among the stone graves, and thinks that this proves 
that they were not Natchez, the Chickasas or Choctaws. Mr. 
Moorehead thinks that this type of skall can not be assigned to 
the Shawnce Indians, either in Ohio or Tennessee, but thinks 
that the same people built the stone graves in both regions. f 

He says that their decayed condition, the rude implements 
and the forest trees towering above them, combine to establish 
the great age of the burials. Skulls similar to these have been 
found in the great mounds near Detroit by Mr. Henry Oilman, 
and were pronounced by him as representatives of the most 
ancient race and typical Mound-builders. The opinion has been 
expressed that this race migrated from the South to the North, 
and once filled the entire Mississippi valley, making the chain of 
the great lakes a barrier between themselves and the dolico- 
cephalic race which occupied the region between the lakes and the 

*There are old Indians who maintain that the fire is there burning, and that It 
was a sacred flame. The custom existed among the Cherokees of taking fire Irom 
the rotundas and lighting the fire in the houses at certain seasons, resembling the 
Mextran custom* and t 1 at common among the Romans. 

fThe reader will find the symbolism of the stoiie grave people fully illustrated in 
the author s work on Native Myths and Symbols. 



112 

Arctic sea.* Sir Daniel Wilson maintains, "not by one, but by di 
verse routes, the fathers of the American nation found their way 
thither, some by Behring Straits and the Aleutian Islands, oth-jrs 
by a route across the Pacific, others by Iceland and Green 
land, across the northern Atlantic, and others by the route which 
Columbus took in 1492." He speaks of the remoteness of the 
migrations by which colonization to the new world was effected. 
Still the same writer says the predominant national character 
istic of southern tribes appear to have been brachy-cephalic, or 
globular, but along the great lakes, the dolic-cephalic torm of 
the head prevails. He says that Canada has no such evidences 
of an incipient native civilization as the remarkable earth-works 
which abound at the south of Lake Erie would prove.f 

5. The civilization of the stone grave people is in marked con 
trast with that of the Indian tribes which inhabited the region 
after the times of history. In fact, the brachy-cephalic people, 
whether here or in Ohio, were much more civilized than the 
dolico cephalic. This we gather from the testimony of all 
authors, even those who hold that the Mound-builders were 
Indians and are identified with those known to history. 

The character of their art will illustrate this. No writings 
or inscriptions or hieroglypics as such have been lound, but 
there are many tablets and shell gorgets which show a high 
grade of symbolism. Gen. Thurston thinks that the Mound- 
builders of Tennessee are the same as those who built the great 
mound at Cahokia, 111., Stltzerville, Miss., Etowah, Ga., and the 
lodge circles of New Madrid and northeast Arkansas. He ob 
tained four hundred and fiity perfect vessels or images from 
Nashville, which were almost exact duplicates of those at 
Cahokia and New Madrid. He thinks that the ceremonial 
scepters, the chipped stone hooks or sickles, wrought agricul 
tural implements, carved pipes and fine specimens of pottery fur 
nish indications of a high grade of art. The ornaments on the 
pottery are very similar to those of the South The plastering 
tools show that there was a division of labor, and the pipes show 
that the people were both serpent worshipers and sun worship 
ers, but retained their animal totems. 

There are traces connecting these tribes with the ancient 
pyramid-builders of Mexico and the pueblo-builders of New 
Mexico and Arizona. The same race that built up the ancient 
cities of Mexico also pushed eastward and colonized the Missis 
sippi valley. Another wave of immigration, probably a more 
savage race of hunters, came from the northwest and swept the 
civilization away or substituted the ruder condition which we 
now ascribe to the Indians. ;|; 



*Scc Morris < ivili/ut ion. 

addre** h.-loic American As^ociat i< n at Monm-al. Report vol. XXXI, 

JSee Antiquities >l Tram >-<-,:-, pp. i,-J, Tii, s7, 1-VJ, Hi.",. 






MAPS OF WOBKS ON THE KENAWHA AND WATEBEE KIVEES. 




VILLAGE WITH LODGE CIKCLES AND BURIAL MOUNDS. 







VILLAGE WITH LODGE CIRCLES, DOMICILIARY AND 
BURIAL MOUNDS. 



113 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE MIGRATIONS OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

One of the most striking peculiarities about the Mound-build 
ers was that they avoided the coast and concentrated their forces 
thoroughly in the interior, making the rivers their special places 
of resort. We have already spoken of this in connection with 
the Mississippi River, and have shown that it was the great 
thoroughfare for the prehistoric races, the migrations of the 
races having been along its channels in both directions. Some 
of the races such as the Dakotas are known to have passed 
up from the south to the north, Perhaps the Mound-builders 
passed down from the north to the south at an earlier date. The 
Missouri River was another great artery which supplied life to 
the Mound-builders territory. It is said that there are various 
mounds of the pyramidal type on the Missouri River, and that 
these have been traced at intervals along the channels, giving 
evidence that this was the route which the pyramid-builders took 
before they reached the stopping place. At its mouth was the 
capital of the pyramid-builders. The Ohio River was also an 
artery of the Mound-builders territory. It was the channel 
through which the various Mound-builders poured. The Ohio 
River was the dividing line between the northern class of mound- 
builders, who were probably hunters, and the southern class, who 
were agriculturists. It was itself occupied by a people who 
were in a mingled agricultural and hunter state. They were, 
however, so surrounded by war-like tribes as to be obliged to 
dwell in fortified villages; and so it was the home of the "-village" 
mound-builders. 

There is no more interesting region in all the mound-builders 
territory than this one through which the Ohio River ran. It 
was the favorite resort for the Mound-builders throughout all 
the prehistoric times. There were prairies to the west, which 
were occupied by a class of people whose works and relics are 
still prevalent, whom we call nomadics. There was to the east 
and northeast another class of Mound-builders a class whose 
works show that they were military in their character, possibly 
the same race which recently dwelt in New York State, and who 
also left their tokens all along the shores of the great lakes and 
extended into the State of Michigan. To the south and south 
east were the remarkable works which have been ascribed to the 
Cherokees, some of which belonged to an unknown class of 
Mound-builders who preceded them. To the southwest were 
the many different tribes of mound-builders the stone grave 
people, the lodge dwellers and the pyramid-builders 



114 

The pyramid-builders were situated farther to the south, in 
the Gulf States, though a portion of them were located at the 
mouth of the river, in Illinois. There are also pyramids scat 
tered along the Missouri River as far north as Dakota. Some 
have thought that this proves that that they came originally from 
the northwest and that their route was down this river. This 
theory is not carried out, however, by tradition, for one of these 
make the pyramid-builders to have originated in Mexico and 
their route to have been from the west to the east. Another 
makes their origin to have been somewhere west, but their route, 
owing to enemies which they met, was up the river on one side 
and down on the other, and so across the Ohio into Tennessee 
and the region east, into the neighborhood of the Atlantic coast. 



- 




J^g. 1. Grave Greek Mound, 

These, however, were all on rivers connected with the Ohio, so 
that one could pass from the region of the Ohio Mound-builders 
to nearly all the other districts where mounds have been discov 
ered and not leave the boat or canoe in which he started, as the 
rivers were all navigable. We see, then, that the Ohio River 
was very central, that it not only traversed the mound-builders 
territory, but, with the Mississippi and the Missouri, may be said 
to have drained the entire upper half of it, and by its branches 
the Cumberland, the Tennessee and the Kenawha it also 
drained much of the lower half. 

Now we propose to enter this district and make a special study 
of it. We shall study it, however, mainly as a thoroughfare, 
through which the Mound-builders passed, or as a center from 
which they scattered, and shall seek evidences of their migra 
tions, and, if possible, learn the direction they took, and the 
dates or periods, or at least the order of each. It should be 



115 



noticed at the outset that the Mound-builders of the Ohio River 
were divided into different classes, some of them being earlier 
and some later in the district. Several may be recognized. It 
still further may be stated that along this river a division has 
been recognized in the works of the district, one class being 
situated at the head-waters of the Alleghany River, another on 
the Muskingum and Scioto, a third on the Miami, and from the 
Miami to the Wabash, a fourth on the Wabash, from the Wabash 
to the Missouri, a fifth class on the Cumberland and the Ten 
nessee, a sixth class on the St. Francis in Arkansas, a little beyond 
the mouth of the Ohio, and a seventh class on the Kentucky 
and the Kenawha. All of these are, however, closely connected 
with the Ohio, as the great artery through which the life of the 
mound-builders flowed. 

We find a great variety of races in these localities, as each 
sub-district had a class of earth-works peculiar to itself the 




Fig. 2 Map of Works on Paint Creek. 

chambered tomb on the Alleghany, of which the Grave Greek 
mound is a type (see Fig. i); the sacred circles and village enclo 
sures on the Scioto (see Fig. 2) and Muskingum; the ancient 
forts on the Little and Big Miami (see Fig. 3); the conical 
mounds on the Wabash River (see Fig. 4); the lodge circles and 
walled villages on the St. Francis River; the stone graves on the 
Cumberland River (see Fig. 5), and the bee-hive tomb on the 
Kenawha River. The strangest feature of all is that in this 
region we find the representatives of all the mound-builders 
works the great serpent representing the effigy-builders, the 
altar mounds and fire-beds apparently representing the hunters 
of Iowa ; the pyramids near Evansville representing the pyra 
mid-builders ; the bee-hive tombs representing the mountaineers 
in North Carolina; the circular enclosures, representing the sun 
worshipers; some of the fortifications representing the military 
people of New York ; the stone forts representing the stone 
grave people of Kentucky and Tennessee, and the ash pits rep 
resenting the later race of hunters which traversed the region at 
a late date. 



116 

We may say, then, that it is a peculiarly favorable place to 
study the migrations of the Mound-builders, as well as of the 
later Indians. Now in reference to this subject of migration, we 
are aware that various writers have treated of it, and it may be 
regarded as a test case, having great bearing on the mound- 
builders problem. It may be well, then, to refer to these opin 
ions before we go further. We shall speak first of the theory 
which Dr, Thomas has advanced. It is that the Mound-builders 
of the Alleghany River, those of Southern Ohio, of the Kenawha 
Valley and of Eastern Tennessee, were all the same people and 
were the ancestors of the Cherokees. Opposite to this theory 
is that of Sir Wm. Dawson, who holds that the Mound-builders 




JP 

Fig. S.Fort at Hardinsburgh, on the Miami River. 

were a people similar to the Toltecan race. Their features re 
semble the softer features of the Polynesians. Dr. Dawson 
thinks, however, that the Algonkins were a later people and that 
they came from the southeast, or, as he says, from the "equator 
ial Atlantic" a theory perfectly untenable. Dr, Horatio Hale 
holds that the Algonkins came from the northwest, but that they 
found the Mound-builders before them. He locates them at first 
north of the Ohio, making their course to be south and across 
this river. Dr. Daniel Wilson, however, holds that the Mound- 
builders were made up of a number of races; some of them were 
allied to the Toltecan, or, possibly, to the Malays ; some to the 
Algonkins and the Mongolian stock; and some to the ancient 
Hochelagans, of which the Eries and the Alleghans were the 
fragments. The opinion we advance is similar to that of Dr. 
Wilson, but in addition we would suggest that some of them were 



117 



allied to the Iberians, and that the sun-worshipers and serpent- 
worshipers of the Ohio River were similar to the class who left 
their symbols in Great Britain and in Western Europe. 

Here, then, we have the different theories, and are to take our 
choice out of them all. Our work, however, is not to advance 




and prove a theory, but to study the tokens and ascertain what 
their testimony is. We enter the field, which is very rich in 
prehistoric works, but these require the closest study for us 
to separate the tokens and assign them to the proper dates and 
order and races, and learn from them the order and the direction 
which those races observed in their migrations. 

The question is, How are we to do this? We answer that 
there are three ways. First, we may take the location and the 



118 

traditions of the Indians; second, we may take the works of 
this district and compare them with other earth-works, noticing 
the resemblances and studying the similarity of customs and 
habits; and, third, we may take the relics of the Mound builders 
and see what relics are found in this district, and how they com 
pare with those found elsewhere. V/e take the Ohio as con 
nected with other rivers and as a center as connected with other 
centers, and see that it was a great thoroughfare for the prehis 
toric races. 




Fig. 5. Typical Fort of the Stone Grave People. 

I. First, let us consider the traditions of the Indian tribes as 
to their migrations: i. The Cherokees were a tribe situated, at 
the opening of history, among the mountains of East Tennes 
see and perhaps as far east as North Carolina. There is a com 
mon tradition that the Cherokees were at one time in the Ohio 
Valley. 2. The Dakotas ; this tribe or stock was, at the opening 
of history, located west of the Mississippi River, in the State 
which bears their name. The Dakotas have a tradition that they 
were once on the Ohio River, and that they migrated from there 
to the west. 3. The Natchez were a tribe formerly situated 
near the City of Natchez. They were sun-worshipers. It is 
supposed by some that the Natchez built the sun symbols in 
Ohio, but that they changed their methods and adopted the 
pyramid as their typical work afterward. 4. The Tetons, a 



119 

branch of the Dakotas, were probably once in this region, though 
their home was afterward in the northern part of Georgia. 5. 
The Eries have been spoken of as possibly the ancestors of the 
Mound-builders and as belonging to the same stock as the Alle- 
ghewis of tradition. 6. The Shawnees, a tribe of the Algonkin 
stock. They were great wanderers, and left their tokens in 
many localities. The district is full of graves of the Shawnees, 
which are interspersed among the works of the preceding 
mound-builders, but which are easily distinguishable from them 
by their modern appearance and by certain characteristics which 
are indefinable, but which are nevertheless easily recognizable. 
7. The Iroquois have reached as far south as the Ohio River. 
We should undoubtedly find various relics left by this tribe in 
the periods preceding history. 




r 
Fig. 6. Burial Mounds on the Scioto River, Ohio. 

Now the point we make is that possibly we may find in the 
traditions of one or all of these tribes something which will help 
us to identify the mounds and relics of the region with the peo 
ple who built them. We must, however, consider one thing 
before we undertake this. While there are traditions among the 
Indians as to their former struggles and conquests about this re 
gion, there are also evidences of preceding migrations, and this 
evidence comes to us as a confirmation that the Mound-builders 
here were not one people but many. In fact, it was a swarming 
place for several tribes or stocks. With this point in mind we 
may safely take up tradition as one source of evidence. The 
great rivers are supposed to have a record of migrations written 
upon their banks, the works and the various traditions of the 
Indians being by some identified with each river and the promi 
nent mounds on each having been identified as the seat of some 
great event known in history or tradition. 

It is well known that the tradition, which has been repeated so 
many times by the natives and gathered by the missionaries and 
by Schoolcraft, Heckwelder and others/in relation to the very 
migration we are now considering, has been located in many dif 
ferent places first on the Mississippi, next on the St. Lawrence, 



120 

next on the St. Clair. It seems to have found its last resting place 
in this very district, at the head-waters of the Ohio. The cele 
brated Grave Creek mound is said to be the very spot where the 
event is commemorated. Now we would not depreciate the 
value of the tradition as one of the connecting links between the 
history of the Mound-builders and the modern Indians, but refer 
to the point as an evidence of the importance of discrimination 
in the matter of migrations. 

Haywood says the Cherokees had a tradition in which was 
contained the history of their migrations. It was that they came 
from the upper part of the Ohio, where they erected earth 
works. But there is a map contained in Catlin s book on the 
Indians which represents the route taken by the Mandans, a 
branch of the Dakotas. This map makes Ohio the starting 
point of that people, and the head-waters of the Missouri the 
termination of their wanderings. We regard this tradition as 
important as that of the Delawares or of the Iroqnois, but it is 
a tradition which gives just the opposite direction for the route 
of the Mound-builders of the district. How shall we reconcile 
the two accounts? Our method of reconciling is one which we 
take from the study of the mounds. The Dakota tradition refers 
to a migration which probably preceded all the records of either 
the Teleghewi, the Cherokees, the Delawares and the Iroquois, 
the migration of the strange serpent worshipers originally occu 
pying this district. Our position is that all of the traditions are 
important, but they prove a succession of populations in this 
region. If Dr. Thomas is to locate the Cherokees here, we also 
locate the ancestors of the Dakotas, and leave the way open for 
others to locate other tribes, so making the Mound-builders not 
one, but diverse and long continued. This is our point. 

We may well take up the study of locality as connected with 
the traditions. Heckwelder says the Lenni Lenape resided, many 
hundred years ago, in a distant country in the west. They 
migrated eastward, and came to a fort and large town of the 
Namaesippi, as they called the country occupied by the Telle- 
ghewi, who had many large towns and regular fortifications. 
One of these towns was near the mouth of the Huron, and here 
are the mounds containing the bodies of the slain Telleghewi. 
Heckwelder also says the Mengwe and the Lenni Lenape united 
their forces, and great battles were fought. The enemy fortified 
their lars^e towns and erected fortifications on the rivers and 
lakes. The war lasted many years. In the end the invaders 
conquered and divided the country between them. The Mengwe 
made choice of the lands in the vicinity of the great lakes, and 
the Lenape took possession of the country to the south. The 
Alleghewi, finding destruction inevitable, abandoned the coun 
try and fled down the Mississippi, from whence they never re 
turned. Here, then, we have the Algonkin account, and we 




MAP OP THE MOUND-BUILDERS DISTRICT. 



121 

seem to be looking at a picture of the Mound-builders who 
had occupied the territory. There is a discrepancy, however, 
in the tradition, or rather the interpretation of it. The scene is 
located on the Namaesippi. which Heckwelder calls the Missis 
sippi, and the flight is down that river; but Heckwelder, in 
another place, locates one great battle nearly west ot the St. 
Clair and another just south of Lake Erie, where hundreds of 
the Telleghewi were buried in the mounds. This tradition 
accords with the passages in Cusick s narrative, a narrative which 
comes from the Iroquois rather than from the Delawares or 
Lenapes. It also may accord with the poetical account contained 
in the Walum Olum, or the red score of the Delawares, trans 
lated by Dr. D. G. Brinton. Mr. Hale, in THE AMERICAN ANTI 
QUARIAN, has said that the country from which the Lenni Lenape 
migrated was "Shinake, the land of fir trees." the woody region 
north of Lake Superior, and thinks that the River St. Lawrence 
is meant by the word great river Namaesippi. He, however, 
locates the battle mounds at St. Clair and the Detroit River and 
makes the Hurons the allies of the Lenape. All the accounts 
agree in this, that the Telleghewi were east of a great river and 
that they were defeated and driven south. Dr. Thomas thinks 
that the tradition assists him in carrying out the full identifica 
tion of the Telleghewi with the mound-builders of this middle 
district, whom he regards as the ancestors ot the Cherokees. 
He says that the Telleghewi or Tsalake was the name the Cher- 
kees gave themselves. The tradition of the Cherokees refers to 
the region of the Upper Ohio as their former home. The testi 
mony of the mounds and of the Walum Olum are in accord 
with the Grave Creek mound and those found in the Kenawha 
Valley, and when compared with the Ohio mounds prove that 
this was their home and the retreat was by way of the Kenawha 
River. Now this is very plausible, and, so far as it goes, it may 
prove satisfactory. Still we may say that there are traditions 
which locate other tribes in the same region, tribes which are of 
entirely different stock from the Alleghewi. On this point we 
would refer to the map contained in Catlin s Indians and to the 
one prepared by Mr. J. O. Dorsey. These show that the tradi 
tionary route of the Dakotas was in the opposite direction from 
that of the Cherokees. 

II. We now turn to the earth-works. We have said that 
there are many earth-works in this district, and that they can be 
divided both according to their geographical location and their 
chronological horizon. We have also said that the representa 
tives of the works of other districts are found in this, and that 
these representatives may help us to identify the people who 
once passed through this great channel. We are now to take 
up the different districts and see what similarities there are. Let 
us first notice the centers of population. It is very remarkable 



122 



that these centers very closely correspond in the historic and 
the prehistoric times. To illustrate: The effigies are near the 
cities of Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin ; the burial mounds 
of one class are not far from St. Paul, another class not far from 
Davenport, Icwa ; the serpent mound (see Fig, 8) not far from 

Quincy, Illinois; a 
pyramid mound just 
opposite St. Louis, 
others near the City 
of Natchez, Mississ 
ippi; the stone grave 
people near the City 
Nashville, Tennes 
see; the bee - hive 
tombs near the City 
Knoxville, Tennes 
see ; the Grave Creek 
mound not far from 
Pittsburg; the sacred 
enclosures near Chil- 
licothe, Newark and 
Cincinnati, and the 
very large conical 
mounds near De 
troit, Vincennes (see 
Fig. 4), Dayton and 
Hamilton. 

Here, then, we 
have a map of the 
country, with the 
centers marked. The 
rivers [also unite 
these centers the 
Alleghany, Muskin- 
gum.the Miami, the 
Wabash. the Cum 
berland, the Tennes 
see, the Illinois, the 
Wisconsin, the Iowa, 
the DesMoines, the 
Missouri, the St. Francis, the Red, the Arkansas, the Yazoo, the 
Ocmulgee, the Tombigbee, the Kenawha and the Kentucky, and 
they all contain mounds on their banks. 

III. The question is about the resemblances between the works 
in these different centers and those on the Ohio. There may be 
resemblances where there were no migrations, but the probabil- 
ties are that they were caused by the adherence of the migrat- 
ng tribes to their former customs, the people retaining the signs 




123 

and burial customs wherever they went. This is seen in many 
districts. The sun-worshipers built the circles and squares, the 
serpent-worshipers built serpent effigies, the pyramid-builders 
built platforms, the hunters built lookout mounds and game 
drives, the military people built forts; but they went elsewhere, 
for we find serpent effigies, circular enclosures, lookout mounds, 
fortifications, burial chambers, altar mounds and pyramids in 
other localities as well as here. 

We give here cuts of the serpent in Ohio and of the serpent 
effigy near Quincy, Illinois. These effigies are respectively 
1250 and 1400 feet in length. They are both conformed to the 
shape of the bluffs on which they were erected, and have other 
features which are similar. 

This, then, is the point we make in connection with the mid 
dle district. We enter this district and find that different races 




Fig. 8. Serpent Mound in Illinois. 

passed through it. Some were early and some late. We also 
find that the tribes went in different directions, some going to 
the south and along the sea coast, and became the sea coast 
people; some to the southwest, across the mountains, and be 
came mountaineers; some to the west, to the prairie region, and 
became hunters; some to the Gulf States, and became agricul 
turists. All the works in these different districts show that the 
people were once in the middle district and had made the Ohio 
River, or at least a part of it, their stopping place. There is, 
however, one thing to be noticed. While the representatives of 
all the districts are contained in the Ohio Valley, yet the 
different parts of that valley are to be considered, for the pyra 
mid-builders never appeared on the eastern waters, the sun- 
worshipers never in the western part, the fort-builders erected 
their wcrks in the middle part, and the serpent- worshipers 
merely passed through or crossed over the central part, and ulti 
mately built their works in distant regions. This is the way we 
reconcile the different theories, as to the modern migrations 
which are recorded in history and in tradition. The Cherokees 
may have migrated through the eastern part of this valley. If 
they did, it was at a comparatively recent date, for all their works 



124 

and relics show this. The Shawnees may also have passed up 
and down the same valley, but this was at a recent date. We have 
reason to believe that a race of sun-worshipers preceded these 
and that this race built the sun circles on the Kenawha River, 
in West Virginia, and on the Wateree River, in South Carolina, 
although it is very uncertain which direction they took in their 
migrations. 

There is another fact which should be noticed. The mounds 
were built at different times, and by different races. They con 
tain layers which are like the strata of geology. These give 
different chronological horizons and represent different periods. 
An illustration of this is given. See Fig. 9; also Fig. II. Here 
we have a mound which contains a horizontal burial, two bodies 
in a sitting posture, and an altar at the base. These were not 
intruded burials, but were the work of successive races or tribes 
which passed through this valley, each one of which added to 
the height of the monnd. The same thought is conveyed also 




Fig. 9. Altar Mound on the Kenawha. 

by the different kinds of mounds found in one locality. Some 
tribes built chambered tombs, others stratified mounds and others 
altar mounds. 

We take up the chambered mounds first, the class of which the 
Grave Creek mound is the representative. We say that this 
class of mounds is somewhat exceptional in Ohio, but they seem 
to be later than the sacred enclosures, or at least they are to be 
assigned to a different race. We notice from the description given 
by Squier and Davis that they are rarely if ever found inside of 
enclosures, but are generally isolated on hilltops. We find also 
that they contain an entirely different class of relics, and are 
constructed after a different pattern. 

It seems to be the opinion of certain archaeologists that the 
Grave Creek mound is the one which figures conspicuously in 
tradition, and that this is the monument of the Alleghewies or 
Cherokees. It may be said of it that it differs from most of the 
mounds in Ohio in that it is isolated, having no earth-works in 
the neighborhood. It is a chambered mound. In fact, it con 
tained two chambers, one above the other. Each chamber was 
square and contained a number of bodies. The manner of 
building the chamber was as follows: A scries of timbers or 
posts were placed on end, forming the wall of the chamber. 
Other timbers were placed across these upright posts, so as to 



125 

form a roof. This roof had decayed and fallen in, so that when 
the mound was first visited it contained a hollow place at its 
summit. At the time of the exploration the two chambers be 
came mingled together, the dirt falling from the upper into the 
lower. There is no doubt that the same race erected both 
chambers. The mound was a very high one, was situated so as 
to give a view of the Ohio River, and may have been used as a 
lookout station as well as a burial place. The Grave Creek 
mound also contained one skeleton in the upper chamber, and 
two in the lower chamber, and it may be conjectured that they 
were sepulchral chambers, which contained the bones of the 
family of the chieftan or distinguished individuals among the 
tribe of the builders. With these skeletons were found three or 
four thousand shell beads, several bracelets of copper and various 
articles carved in stone. It is said, however, that on reaching 
the lower vault it was determined to enlarge it for the accommo 
dation of visitors, and in so doing ten more skeletons were 
discovered, all in a sitting posture, but in so fragile a state as to 
defy all attempts at preservation. We might say in connection 
with this Grave Creek mound and the theory that it was built 
by the Cherokees, that the tablet about which so much discussion 
has arisen, was said to be found in the lower chamber, though 
it may have dropped from the upper one. It is now over twenty 
years since the tablet was thrown out of court, its evidence 
having been impeached so many times that it has no weight in 
solving the problem. Still, inasmuch as the Cherokees have an 
alphabet, which was said to have been introduced or invented by 
the Cherokee Sequoia, and as other stones have been discovered 
with alphabetic characters on them, perhaps the case should be 
reconsidered. 

There are very few mounds in Ohio which contain chambers 
like these. While there were various mounds which contained 
single chambers made from logs, they were generally compara 
tively small mounds, and the chambers within them were much 
smaller. Squier and Davis have spoken of a sepulchral mound 
on the east bank of the Scioto River, one of a group, which was 
twenty-two feet high by ninety feet base. At ten feet below the 
surface occurred a layer of charcoal; at the depth of twenty-two 
feet was a frame-work of timber, nine feet long, seven feet wide 
and twenty inches wide, which had been covered with unhewn 
loejs. The bottom had been covered with bark matting, and upon 
the matting was a single skeleton. Around the neck of the 
skeleton was a triple row of beads made of marine shells, several 
hundred in number, and the tusks of some animal. This is the 
mound, however, to which we have referred already. It was a 
mound which, in its location, showed that it was not one which 
belonged to the sun-worshipers. It was situated six miles from 
Chillicothe, on a hill, a mile and a half from any enclosure, 



126 



though surrounded by other burial mounds of the same shape 
See Fig. 6. This mound we ascribe to a different race from those 
who built the altar mounds and the enclosures. 

Dr. Thomas speaks of two mounds in the Kenawha Valley, 
one called the Smith mound and the other No. 23, one being 35 
feet high and 175 feet in circumference, the other 25 feet high 
and 312 feet in circumference. Both contained chambers made 
from logs, one of them 13 feet long and 12 wide, the other 12 
feet across and some 10 feet high. Both were in the form of a 
pen. It appears that the great Smith mound contained five skel- 
tons, one very large, over seven feet long. Each wrist was 

encircled by copper 
bracelets; upon the 
breast was a copper gor 
get; in each hand were 
three flint lance-heads; 
near the right hand a 
small hematite celt and 
a stone axe; upon the 
shoulder three sheets of 
mica and a fragment of 
dressed skin, which had 
been preserved by the 
copper. Another mound 
situated in the valley of 
the Scioto River, on the 
very lowest terrace (see Fig. 10), where the water frequently over 
flowed, was excavated and found to contain chambers, or vaults, 
one above the other. These vaults were larger, and of different 
shapes, being 36 feet in diameter, and circular in shape. They 
were built by posts placed upright, 1 1 inches apart, the upper 
vault having two circular rows of posts, but the lower only one. 
On the floor of each vault were several skeletons. There were 
also logs or timbers in the lower vault, giving the idea that this 
one was also built in the same way. Dr. Thomas says there 
were some indications that the burial was comparatively recent, 
as a bone showing the cuts of a steel knife was found in the 
vault. The fact that the mound was on the low ground over 
flowed by the river also shows that it was recent, as all the old 
mounds were on the terraces above the flood plain, and were 
evidently built when the water covered the flood plain, while this 
one was built after the flood plain had been drained. The large 
vaults with the modern relic, Dr. Thomas thinks, were used as 
council houses and that they resemble those used by the Cher- 
okees after the time of history. The discovery of a similar vault 
by Mr. Lucien Carr is referred to in evidence. This vault, so 
called, was on the top of a truncated oval mound in Lee County, 
West Virginia. It was evidently a rotunda, such as the Chero- 




Fig. 10- Village Enclosure on the Scioto River. 



127 

kees used as their places of assembly, as there was a row of 
posts arranged in a circle, showing this. The argument which 
Dr. Thomas dwells upon is that the proximity to the circle and 
square called the Baum Works proves it to have been built by 
the same people. This, however, is the very point we make on 
the other side. It proves the succession of races, and shows 
that the Cherokees were among the last in the region, but were 
not the village sun-worshipers, as is suggested. The vaulted 
mounds have not been found in the circles or squares, nor in 
connection with the covered ways or double circles, nor do they 
contain any such finely carved relics as belonged to the earlier 
class of sun-worshipers. These are very rude and the mounds 
are differently situated. 

IV. The mode of burial practiced by the Mound-builders is next 
to be considered. Dr. Thomas, in his work, has shown one 
mode of burial which was quite remarkable. It seems to have 
consisted in the digging of a circular pit, and then placing bodies 
in the pit and building stone cones or chambers over the bodies. 
This pit with stone vaults and skeletons was explored by the 
agent of the Bureau of Ethnology. It is a true circle, 38 feet 
in diameter, not more than a foot and a half in height. The 
bee-hive shaped vaults were built of water-worn boulders. The 
skeleton was placed upon its feet and a wall built up around it. 
On the top of the head of one skeleton, under the capstone, were 
several plates of silvery mica. Many of the stones of the little 
vaults bore unmistakable evidences of fire. The only relic found 
was a pipe, found near the mouth of one This pit was covered 
with a very low mound. Near the mound was a triangle, which 
proved to be a communal grave. It was a burial pit. The two 
long sides of the triangle were 48 feet each, and the other side 
32 feet. The depth varied from two and a half to three feet. 
Here was a bee-hive shaped vault of cobble stones. In the pit 
a skeleton, and a large engraved gorget were with it; a number 
of large-sized shell beads; at the sides of the head, near the 
ears, five copper beads or small cylinders ; under the breast, a 
piece of copper; about each wrist a bracelet, composed of alter 
nate beads of copper and shell; at his right hand were four iron 
specimens, one of them in the form of a thin celt: another 
apparently a part of the blade of a long slender knife or dag 
ger; another a part of a round awl-shaped instrument. Scattered 
over and between the skeletons of this group were numerous 
polished celts, discoidal stones, copper arrow-points, plates of 
mica, lumps of paint. About 200 yards east of the triangle was 
another low mound, covering a circular pit similar to the one 
described, in which were twenty-six skeletons. In a different 
part of the same county another similar pit, containing a kind 
of communal grave, in which were the following articles : One 
stone axe, 43 polished celts, 9 pottery vessels, the handle of one 



128 

representing an owl s head and another an eagle s head, 32 arrow 
heads, 20 soapstone pipes, 12 discoidal stones, 10 rubbing stones, 
6 engraved shells, 4 shell gorgets, I sea shell, 5 large copper 
beads, a few rude shell pins. Among the shell gorgets was one 
containing four birds heads with the looped square figure, a 
symbol of the sun, and a figure of the cross enclosed in a circle. 
The soapstone pipes were of peculiar shape. One of them had 
a bowl in the shape of a tube, but with a flat stem or mouth 
piece. A number of pipes similar to this have been found in a 
mound in Sullivan County, East Tennessee. Others have been 
found in West Virginia. A very modern-looking pipe is also 
presented by Dr. Thomas, though he does not state exactly 
where it was found. This group of mounds or burial pits was 
situated .on the borders of the white settlement, a locality where 
we would expect to find the traces of contact with the whites. 
The Cherokees long resided on the mountains of East Tennes 
see. They took the patterns for their pipes from the whites, but 
they retained many other relics. The symbolism they held in 
common with other tribes was perpetuated intact. 

One fact is to be noticed. In one of the mounds in North 
Carolina, the one which contained the circular pit, some eight 
or ten skeletons with heads which had been elongated by arti 
ficial pressure were discovered. The Catawbas are said to have 
practiced this head flattening, as did many of the Muskogee 
stock. The explorations on the Little Tennessee River among 
the overhill towns, yielded a number of relics which resembled 
those found in North Carolina. The mounds here contained a 
peculiar style of clay beds, saucer-shaped, varying in diameter 
from six to fifteen feet, built in layers, one above another, three 
to five beds, with a layer of coal and ashes between them. In 
one mound were found a number of skeletons, and by the side 
of nearly every skeleton were shell masks, shell pins, shell 
beads, perforated shells, engraved shells, discoidal stones, polished 
celts, arrow-heads, spear-heads, stone gorgets, bone implements, 
clay vessels and copper hawk bells. The hawk bells were with 
the skeleton of a child, at a depth of three feet and a half. They 
were in the form of sleigh bells, but with pebbles and shell 
beads for rattles. In another mound on the Little Tennessee, 
two miles from Morgantown, were found nine skeletons, and 
with one were two copper bracelets, copper beads, a small drilled 
stone, an engraved stone which had some ot the characters of 
the Cherokee alphabet on it. The argument which Dr. Thomas 
makes in connection with these finds is that the mound-builders 
were Indians, and the particular tribe who built these mounds 
were Cherokees. The argument is, however, misleading. It 
may be forcible as proving the migration and the modern char 
acter of the Cherokees, but it begs the question as to the other 
tribes of mound-builders. The tribes which were formerly lo- 



129 

cated along the Atlantic coast and on the Alleghany mountains 
have never been recognized as belonging to the Mound-builders. 
Many of these works are to be connected with the historic 
Indians, such as the Powhattans of the Algonkin stock and the 
Tuscaroras of the Iroquois stock. The value of the finds con 
sists in the fact that the record of the Cherokees is carried back 
into prehistoric times and the record of mound-building brought 
up to modern times; but to make the Cherokees the mound- 
builders of the Mississippi Valley is absurd. The Cherokees 
may have passed over a portion of the Mound-builders territory, 
precisely as the Dakotas are supposed to have done at an early 
time and as we know other tribes such as the Shawnees, Dela- 
wares, Iroquois and Wyandottes did after the time of the 
discovery; but the probability is that their route was over the 
eastern part and not the western. 

That there was a succession of races is seen from the study 
of the burial mounds. Fig. 1 1 illustrates this. In this mound 
we find at the bottom a circular vault three feet deep and 6 feet 
in diameter, filled with chocolate dust, No. I. Next to this was 
a layer, marked 2, containing the bones of fifteen or twenty 
persons. Above them a layer of burned clay. Above this, in 
No. 4, was a mass of calcined bones, mingled with ashes and a 
reddish brown mortar burned as hard as brick. 

The bee-hive vault has been dwelt upon as proof, but the bee 
hive vault resembles the bee-hive huts, which are common in 
Scotland, as much as it does any structure found in Southern 
Ohio. Shall we say that these bee-hive vaults prove the Chero 
kees to have come from Scotland ? The Cherokees are said to 
have been very white, and might almost be called white Indians. 
Shall we trace the Cherokees back to a white race, which, accord 
ing to some, was allied to the Aryan? Their language is said 
to be related to the Dakotas. The earliest known migrations 
of the Dakotas were from the east. Shall we, then, trace both 
the Dakotas and Cherokees back to the island of Great Britain, 
making the route of their migration to be by way of Iceland and 
the coast of Labrador, and take the coincidence between the bee 
hive huts and bee-hive vaults and make out a case in that way? 

The effigy mounds of Southern Ohio, especially the great 
serpent, the bird mounds of Northern Georgia, the effigies of 
Wisconsin and the stone effigies of Dakota are assigned by 
some to the different branches of the Dakotas the Tuteloes 
having once been located in Northern Georgia, not far from 
where the bird effigy is; other tribes such as the lowas and 
Mandans having, according to tradition, carried these symbols 
to Dakota ; the Winnebagos, another branch, had their last 
abode in Wisconsin, where the effigies are so numerous. 

Our argument is for the migration of the Dakotas as preceding 
that of the Cherokees. According to Thomas there are, in the 



130 

mounds of the Kenawha Valley, several different kinds of burials, 
some of them resembling those found among the Cherokees; 
but the trouble is that these have all been mingled together 
as if they all belonged to one tribe, whereas they prove that 
several tribes passed through this region. Let us enumerate the 
different forms of burial mounds which Dr. Thomas has assigned 
to this tribe, i. We find the bee-hive tombs in North Caro 
lina. These were found in a circular pit. 2. The triangle con 
taining graves and modern relics. 3. The mounds with burials 
between bark coverings in East Tennessee. 4. The square 
chambered tombs in the Grave Creek mound, in the Kenawha 
mound, and those on the Scioto. 5. The round chambers, 
lined with upright posts, contained within the pyramid mound 
on the flood plain in the valley of the Scioto. 6. The altar 
found at the bottom of one of the mounds in the Kenawha 




Fig. 11. Stratified Mound in Wisconsin. 

Valley (see Fig. 9), resembling those found in Ohio. 7. Altars 
made from cubical piles of stones, found in Eastern Iowa, re 
sembling those found in Tennessee. 8. The altar beds in Cal- 
houn County, Illinois, resembling others in Tennessee. 9. The 
square piles of stones in Franklin County, Indiana, resembling 
those found in Tennessee. Besides these there were the stone 
graves found in the Kenawha Valley, those in Illinois, and those 
found in the bottom of the pyramid mound at Etowah, Georgia, 
the stratified mounds found in the neighborhood of Davenport, 
the chambered tomb found in Wisconsin, the stone vaults found 
on the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. 

The important point we make is this: The burials referred 
to above are so varied that it is absurd to ascribe them to any 
one Indian tribe, either Cherokee, Shawnee or Dakota.* True 
the analysis and comparison might enable us to assign those 
northwest to one general class; those on the Missouri River to 
another; those on the Upper Mississippi to a third; those on the 
Middle Mississippi to a fourth; those on the Southern Missis 
sippi to a fifth ; those on the Cumberland to a sixth ; those on 



*The reader will find a description of the different burials in the chapter on burial 
mounds. See American Antiquarian, Vol. XI, No. 6. 



131 

the Upper Ohio to a seventh; and those on the Wateree River 
and in East Tennessee to the eighth class. This is, however, 
only repeating what has been said before the Mound-builders 
were divided into several distinct classes, and differed according 
to location, each tribe having its own peculiar earth-works and 
burial mounds and relics. So far as the classes and districts are 
concerned, there is no great difficulty in tracing the tribes which 
occupied these subsequent to the time of history, back to the 
Mound-building period and in identifying them in some of the 
burials which have been preserved; but to say that these his 
toric tribes were the builders of all the mounds in the district is 
going contrary to the facts, for there is too much variety in the 
mounds of each district to admit of this. 

We are ready to acknowledge the resemblance between these 
circles in the Kenawha Valley and those on the Wateree River 
in South Carolina, and especially the similar significance of the 
circle with the mound in its center, which seems always to be a 
sign of sun-worship. Squier and Davis have called attention 
to the general similarity between the southern mounds and the 
Ohio mounds, especially to the fact that there were spiral paths 
around the outside of them. They speak of the council or 
oblong mound in the circle on the Wateree River, with a cir 
cumference of 550 feet at the base and 225 feet at the top, and 
30 feet high. They say, however, that while this region was 
occupied by the Cherokees at one time and by the Ocmulgees 
at another, still that the country was, many ages preceding the 
Cherokees, inhabited by one nation, who were ruled by the same 
system of laws, customs and language, but so ancient that the 
Cherokees or the Creeks could give no account of them or the 
purposes for which they erected the monuments. High pyram 
idal mounds, with spacious avenues leading to artificial lakes, and 
cubical yards, with sunken areas and rotundas, are the charac 
teristic works of the south works which the Cherokees adopted 
and used, but which, it is said, they did not build. The contrast 
between the two classes is marked, as the water cultus is plain 
in one and sun-worship in the other, and yet the connecting link 
may be found in the circles we are describing. 

This thing we can rely upon, however: The mounds, earth- 
worths and relics are so arranged in districts, and so correlated 
to those districts, that we may safely give names to the people 
of the district; but they must be names which are taken from 
the ancient works, rather than from the modern tribes. This is 
the case even when we think that we have traced the migration 
of the ancient races, for, after all that we may do, it is still an 
open question whether the ancient races- and the modern works 
can be fully identified. 

Modern races followed the ancient in all the districts ; but the 
ancient relics were transmitted, and modern relics intruded in 



132 

such strange, unaccountable ways and out-of-the-way places, as 
to make us pause before we give a certainty to our speculations 
in regard to this subject The monitor pipes, the duck pipes, 
the shell gorgets, the inscribed shells, the copper relics, the gold 
ornaments, and various other relics, may be scattered through 
the mounds of each separate district, and at the same time be 
found in the hands of the later Indians occupying these districts ; 
but the traditions, the relics and the earth-works in these same 
districts, often compel us to go back of these people and to assign 
a long succession of tribes to the district, so that we may say it 
is actually easier for us to trace the migrations of the Mound- 
builders from one district to another than it is to trace the history 
of the district, back through its different periods of occupation. 

Here, then, we have the evidence. The migrations of the 
pyramid-builders, like that of the stone grave people, may have 
been across the Ohio Valley at the west end. The migra 
tion of the circle-builders, sun-worshipers, may have been north 
or south, across the Ohio Valley at the east end; but, on the 
contrary, the serpent-worshipers, whose works are found on the 
Ohio River and on the Mississippi River, must have migrated 
through the whole middle district, th Ohio River being the 
thoroughfare. It does not seem reasonable that they were the 
same people who built the bee-hive vaults or even the chambered 
tombs, for not one such one structure is found in all their west 
ern track, 

Our conclusion is that there were various migrations of mound 
builders through and across the Ohio Valley, some of them 
having been sun-worshipers, some of them serpent-worshipers 
and some pyramid-builders. If any of these are to be identified 
with the Cherokees, others with as much reason may also be 
identified with the Dakotas, the testimony of tradition and of 
language, as well as of archaeolgy, corresponding on this point; 
but this by no means precludes us from believing that there were 
other races or tribes of Mound-builders which preceded these, 
the history and names of which have not yet been discovered, 
and so they can not be identified with any modern tribe. 



133 



CHAPTER IX. 



VILLAGE LIFE AND THE MOUND-BUILDERS 
CULTUS. 

One of the most noticeable things in connection with prehis 
toric times is that village life was so prevalent. This seems to 
have been common in all ages and among all races, but it was 
especially prominent among the Mound-builders. It was in fact 
the element into which they threw their own peculiarities and 
which embodied their cultus. The Mound-builders villages 
were not all alike, for every district had a style of village pecular 
to itself, and yet they differed from those of other races, and are 
therefore worthy of our study. This is the factor which may 
enable us to draw the line between the different periods of occu 
pation, and help us solve the Mound-builder problem. 

The picture of the Mound-builders territory which we have 
presented is one in which different classes or tribes occupied 
different districts, filling each district with their own peculiar 
cultus. The picture is a varied one, for the tribes or classes 
followed different employments, used different implements and 
showed different grades of advancement. The conditions of society 
were correlated to physical surroundings. There seems to have 
been, also, changes among the people at various times; migra 
tions from one district into another, the abandonment of earth 
works of one class, and the erecting of a similar class of 
earth-works in another region, the routes of migration being 
marked by the tribes, either in entering their territory or in 
departing from it. 

The location of the modern tribes of Indians, with their pecu 
liar habits and customs, has also come into the picture and been 
a prominent feature in the scene. The panorama has been a 
moving one; in fact, the changes have been so numerous that it 
has been difficult to distinguish the earlier from the later tribes, 
and much confusion has been the result. It is probably on this 
account that many have confounded the Mound-builders with the 
Indians and classed both together, not realizing that the Mound- 
builders cultus was so distinct. 

I. The character of the villages is the test by which we deter 
mine the cultus which prevailed in a certain period of time 



& 



134 

in particular localities, and is the especial means by which we 
ascertain the Mound-builders cultus. We speak of the Mound- 
builders cultus because it was distinctive, in fact, as distinctive as 
the cliff-dwellers or the lake-dwellers, or the Aztec or Maya cul 
tus, and because it furnishes us a definite name for a specific period 
of time and helps us to separate that time from that which pre- 
eceded, and that which followed; but the cultus was embodied 
in the village life as much as in any other element, and we shall, 
therefore, point to this as the factor which will enable us to dis 
tinguish the cultus. Village life may, indeed, have prevailed 
among the Indian tribes, as it prevailed among all of the unciv 
ilized races, both in this continent and in every other one. Mr. 
Stanley informs us that villages were very common in Central 
Africa, that all the trails led through villages ; travelers have 
spoken of the villages of South America and have pictured the 
roadways which led from one city or ancient village to another. 

The early and later explorers maintain 
that there were roadways in Central 
America, Yucutan and in Honduras, 
which led from the ancient cities to 
the sea coast, and from the sea coast 
to islands. We do not maintain that 
village life was peculiar to the Mound- 
builders as it was everywhere preva 
lent, and was as common among the 
later as the earlier races but its fea- 

m. l.-VWase v,m Water Supply. tUr Wer <; distinctive 

The features which distinguish the 

villages of the Mound-builders are as follows: i. The presence 
of earth -works, which in one way or another form an enclosure, 
either as walls, as pyramids, as circles, burial mounds or effigies. 
They may have been used as burial places, as lookouts, as altars, 
game drives, places of assembly, but all of them were connected 
with the villages. 2. The abundance of relics in the mounds, de 
posited as offerings, or personal belongings, gives evidence of a 
numerous population, which had its center in the village. 3. The 
earliest villages were those of the Mound-builders, and can be 
distinguished from the villages of the later Indian races by their 
age. The burial mounds show a succession of races, but the 
burials which are the earliest, or lowest down, may be taken as 
those of the Mound-builders*. 4. The villages of the Mound- 
builders were generally located upon the high land and were 
attended with lookout mounds, trails or roadways, and other 
signs which indicate that they were connected with one another, 
showing that the occupants were the permanent possessors of 

*See Chap. I, p. 30; Chap. IV, p. 53-58: Chap. V, Burial Mounds, p. G5-74; Chap. 




135 

the entire region.* 5. The evidence of an organized condition of 
society is given by the villages of Mound-builders; the villages 
were occupied by clans, the clans were arranged in tribes, tribes 
were gathered into confederacies. 

The grade of advancement in the earth-works and relics dis 
tinguished the Mound-builders villages from those which either 
preceded or followed,and furnishes a good test as to the Moun 1- 
builders cult. 

I. Let us take up first the study of the earth-works. Many 
of these were located on ground where modern cities have grown 
up, but there was a time when they were the most marked 
objects in the landscape, and the record of them is more com 
plete than that of the temporary Indian villages which have 
been gathered in the same spot. The center of population was 
in the village throughout all ages, but in the Mound-builders 
age the villages were more extensive than at any other time and 
were perhaps as imposing in ap 
pearance as many of the villages 
built by the white man, and were 
especially in contrast with those of 
the Indians. 

Indian villages were often erect 
ed in the midst of Mound-builders 
enclosures; Indian graves intruded 
into the tumuli of Mound-builders, 
and Indian relics are found mingled 
with Mound-builders relics. But if 

. Fig.Z Village ivith Sacrificial Mounds 

an extensive earthwork, with heavy 

wall and great gateways can be distinguished from an ordinary 
camping place ; if the deposits of beautifully carved relics, such 
as pipes, highly wrought copper specimens, and pearl beads can 
be distinguished from the rude camp kettles, the occasional brass 
and silver brooch, the fragments of cloth and the debris of the 
camp, the permanent abode or house can be distinguished from 
a rude wigwam, the Mound-builders cultus can be separated 
from the Indian, even when the villages were in the same locality. 
Any one who reads the descriptions of Indian wars, especially 

* See Chap. II, p. 17-18; Chap. VI, p. 89, American Geologist, article by S. D. Peet, 
on The Flood Plain, p. 264. 

f The cuts given in Figs. 1 and 2 are taken from Atwater s book, which was the 
first one published upon the Mound-builders. They represent the two villages form 
erly situated on Paint Creek, five miles apart, with a fort between them, located at 
Bouroeville. The same villages can be seen in the map. These villages were some 
what remarkable. The one at A had an enclosore which contained 77 acres, in the 
center of which was an elliptical mound, 240x160 feet, and SO feet high, surrounded 
by a low embankment and covered with a pavement of pebbles. There was a cres 
cent near this mound, set around the edges with stone, and a number of wells were 
inside and outside the enclosure. The circle contains 17 acres; within it was a 
smaller circle, which probably marked the site of the estufa. Here we have pro 
visions for religious ceremonies as well as residence and defense. The other village 
(B) contained no elliptical mounds, but there was within it a pond 15 feet deep and 
39 feet across, which is fed by a rivulet flowing from the high land through the walls 
and furnished the village with water supply. 




136 



those conducted by Gen. St. Clair, Anthony Wayne, Gen. George 
Washington, Gen. Braddock, can realize that the villages which 
were so easily destroyed by the invading whites, and which were 
frequently transported by command of the Indian chiefs, were 
but temporary camps, and in great contrast to the Mound-build 
ers villages. The battlefields have been located, but not one of 
them is marked by any earthworks, such as the ancient races 
were accustomed to erect. The vijlages which were attacked 

were clusters of tempor 
ary wigwams, some of 
them without even the 
protection of a palisade. 
They were so easily de 
stroyed that a single fire 
would sweep them from 
off the face of the earth, 
and, in a few years, not 
a trace of them was left. 
Even in the localities 
where, according to the 
early maps, Indian vil 
lages once stood, the 
explorer will seek in 
vain for any vestige by 
which he can identify 
the site. If he takes the 
names of distinguished 
chiefs, such as King Phil 
lip, Pontiac, Tecumseh 
and Black Hawk, and 
seeks for their homes he 
will find no sign of them. 
The villages of Black 
Hawk and Keokuk were 
situated on the DesMoines River, near Eldon, but not a sign 
of them remains; even the graves of these Indian warriors have 
been despoiled and their bones destroyed. 

There was formerly an Indian village on the Ohio, opposite 
the mouth of the Scioto. It was, however, located on the banks, 
below the terrace on which were the villages of the ancient 
Mound-builders. The contrast between the two villages the 
ancient and the modern can be seen here. Here we see 




-st ,<-lc(t<l<< nildfjc near Granville, Ohio.* 



* The stockades represented in Figs. 3 and 4 are such as are very common in Ohio 
and Kentucky and many of the western States. They are not known to have been 
built by any Indian tribe, but may have marked the intervening period between 
the Mound-builders age and that of the modern Indian. They show the difference 
between the cult of the early Mound-builders and that of the later race. One of 
these was situated near Granville, and in sight of the alligator or opossum mound, 
about five miles from the works at Newark. It has an area of 18 acres. The ditch is 
outside of the wall. Inside the wall is a small circle, 100 feet in diameter. In the 
circle are two mounds, both of which contain altars. 



137 



heavy walls en the high terrace, fifty feet above the bank where 
the modern village was located, the oval enclosure isolated on a 
spur, and the covered ways extending for eight miles or more, 
with the bastions, gateways, circles, and burial mounds all con 
nected by a ferry with the walls, circles, mounds, on the summit 
of the hill opposite, and these again by another ferry with the 
walls, concentric circles and temple mounds, several miles away, 
the length of the walls being twenty-two miles. On the other 
hand, the Indian village is so insignificant that a single flood over 
flowed its site and swept away all vestige of the encampment, 
taking the houses of the few white settlers, which had been built 
upon the same spot, so that now nothing is left to reveal either of 
the later periods of occupation.* All signs of the Indian village 
and early settlement of the white man have disappeared, but the 
works of the Mound-builders remain, notwithstanding the growth 
of a modern city on the spot. 

2. It has been maintained by some that the stockade was pecu 
liar to the northern 
Indian, the earthwork 
to the southernjlndian 
and that this consti 
tuted the only differ 
ence between the vil 
lages, but the fact is 
the stockade was as 
common at the south 
as at the north, and 
in both sections there 
are earthworks which 
were built by an ear 
lier race. Beauchamp 
has shown this to be 
the case in the state of 
New York. He main 
tains that there was a 

period of time when villages were surrounded by earth-works, 
but at a subsequent period the timbered palisade took their 
place.f The stockades of the Iroquois tribes were more endur 
ing than the temporary villages of the Algonkins, but these have 
so far disappeared that it is difficult to locate their villages. On 
the other hand, the villages of the Mound-builders, who preceded 
the Iroquois, are identified by earth-works which still remain. 
Sir William Dawson has also shown that the villages of the 
earlier races were attended with a class of relics which indicated 
a cultus peculiar to the age and the people.! 

The antiquity of the first race can be judged from the fact that a 




Fig. U Stockade Village in Ohio. 



* See map, p. 253. t See Amer. Antiquarian. ^See Fossil Man. 



138 



nest of copper relics, consisting of socketed spears and spades 
of the Wisconsin stamp, was found while digging the St. Law 
rence canal, on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, some fifteen 
feet below the surface. The antiquity of the Mound-builders 
village in the State of Ohio can also be seen from the earth 
works. The village near Dayton, Ohio, covered several miles 
of a level plain, but so long ago that the sweep of the waters of 
the Great Miami River in the time of flood has taken away a 
larger portion of the walls and yet that which remains extends 
beyond the modern village of Alexandersville, and takes in two 
stations on the railroad.* 

3. Village life impressed itself upon the soil everywhere. Even 
in the region where the hunter life was prevalent, this is every 
where apparent. Here 
the villages were sur 
rounded either by cir 
cles of burial mounds 
or by animal effigies, 
or rude earth-works,f 
but there are also 
lookout mounds, and 
game drives, garden 
beds, and occasionally 
altar mounds, which 
indicate that certain 
clans occupied the lo 
cality. Game drives 




Fig. 5 Stockade Village in Ohio. 



are not confined to the state of Wisconsin, but are found in Illinois 
and other states, showing that while the Mound-builders of this 
region were hunters, they dwelt in villages. 

It remained, however, for the agricultural races to build the 
most elaborate earth-works, as a defense to their villages. These 
were placed uniformly upon terraces overlooking the rivers, and 
abounded with covered ways, graded ways, lookout mounds, 
dance circles, burial places, all of which were guarded by earth- 
wall s.J 

Walled villages were numerous in the middle district, on both 
sides of the Ohio River, but they did not all belong to the same 
class. In fact, four or five types of Mound-builders villages have 
been discovered in this region, all of which may have been pre 
historic. These were followed by the rude villages of the modern 
Indian races. The effort has been made to identify these modern 
Indians as the descendants of the earlier Mound-builders, but 



*See Antiquities of Tenn., by Gen. G. P. Thuraton, p. 40. Jones Aboriginal Re 
mains, p. 115. See map of works at Alexandersville. 

tSee William I );t wson s Description of Hochelaga, p. 40; Hubbard s Memorial 
Sketches of a Half Century, p 232; Foot s Kmblematio Mounds, p. 20S ; Smithsonian 
Report, Description ot Earth Walls on the Spoon River and Fox Kiver, Illinois. 

JSee Hurtram s Travels. 

An-iquitlos of Southern Indians, by C. C. Jones. 



139 

the very contrast between the two classes of villages, the earlier 
and later, refutes this. The Mound-builders may have changed 
their location, and the occupants of the villages of one district have 
established their villages in another district, but if this was the 
case, those who migrated must have adopted another style of 
village architecture and manufactured a different class of relics, 
having dropped those to which they had been accustomed, for 
there are no two districts in which the same works or relics can 
be discovered, Relics, to be sure, are found in Iowa and Illinois 
which resemble those in Ohio, but there are no such earth-works. 
A few works are found in West Virginia and Kentucky which 




Fig. 6. Sacred Enclosure in Kentucky * 

resemble the Ohio villages, but the relics are quite different. It 
appears that there was a period in which every district exhibited 
a Mound-builder s cultus, another period in which it disappeared 
or was lost, 

4. The loss of this cultus is one ofthe plainest facts in archaeology. 
We pass over the districts and study the works and relics which 
we ascribe to the earlier Mound-builders, but we find the people 
gone, and we fail to recognize or identify their cultus in any one of 
the modern tribes of Indians. In fact, the change of cultus has 
been so great in every district that we fail to reach any certainty 
in reference to the time of occupation or the people who built 
the villages. When we interrogate the Indians of any tribe, 
Iroquois, Algonkin, Dakota, Cherokee, Shawnee, we find their 
memory uncertain and their traditions indefinite.f 

* The works at Mt. Sterling consist of an enclosure 100 feet square, an elliptical 
mound, 9 feei. high, truncated and connected by a wall with a small conical mound, 
a circle with a ditch and square platform, and a hexagonal enclosure with a gateway 
to the east. These works exhibit an identity with those in Ohio and were probably 
symbolic or religious in their character. The proximity to the streams suggests a 
water cult. See Fig. 6. 

tSee Irving s Florida ; for Study of Skulls see report of Davenport Academy or 
Science, Lucian M. Carr s Antiquities of Tenn., p. 117; Agricultural Races, Jones 
Southern Indians, Eleventh report Peabody Museum, p. 384. 



HO 



aUMlAFI WOHKS 
XOSfCflVHTt OHIO. 



The Shawnees have indeed been traced from one locality to 
another, for they were great wanderers, but the relics which have 
been lound in the stone graves which are said to mark their 
route, are as different in different localities as if they were man 
ufactured by entirely distinct races. The abandonment of their 
homes by these wandering tribes must have occurred long years 
ago, for otherwise we could not account for the change which 
has come upon them in their cultus and art motives. So with 

the Cherokees, and the 
Muscogeesand other tribes. 
Adair and Bartram tell us 
the Cherokees had a tradi 
tion that the pyramids at 
the south were built by a 
preceding race; that they 
only occupied them as new 
comers after vanquishing 
the nations who inhabited 
them, and that the former 
possessors told the same 
story concerningthem; that 
they found the mounds 
when they took possession 
of the country. Mr. Jones 
says that "the works were 
subject to secondary uses. 
Temple mounds, originally 
designed for religious ob 
jects, were by the Creeks 
and Cherokees converted 
into stockade forts and used 
as residences for their chiefs 




Mound-builders 1 Village and Covered Way. 



or for purposes of sepul 
ture." The tradition is 
that the incursion of wild tribes from the North drove off the 
Mound-builders from the middle districts, some of which intruded 
themselves upon the southern districts, and at a still earlier date 
these southern tribes supplanted a race of pyramid-builders. 
These traditions are confirmed by the study of the relics and 
works, all of which indicate that many changes took place in 
pre-Columbian times, the transposition of new populations hav 
ing brought in a new cultus, with intervals of varying length, 
but the village life having continued through all the changes. 



* The enclosure called Dunlap s Works is situated on the third terrace above the 
Sciotn. There is a covered way 1240 feet long, with a lookout mound at the end 
which commands a view of the river valley, and a terraced mound or mound and 
circle not far from the covered way. On the fourth terrace is an outwork which may 
have served as a race-course or a place of games. There was a gateway and a graded 
path connecting it with the enclosure. Tne small circle is on the bank of the river, 
but there is no large circle connected with the works. 



141 



5. We do not then misinterpret the evidence given by the earth 
works, when we say that the confederacies of the Mound-builders, 
whether situated along the upper, middle or lower Mississippi, 
the Cumberland, St. Francis, or Ohio River, or in Florida or the 
Gulf States, must have long preceded that of the Indians,* and 
that the history of these villages was quite different from that of 
the modern tribes. We go back to the time of the first dis 
covery and examine the picture of the villages presented by the 
historians of Ferdinand De Soto s expedition, and find that they 
were thoroughly equipped with the machinery of government 
and religion, and are to be, by this means, distinguished from 
the villages of the Atlantic coast and the New England States, 



Section . 





Stockade fort in Tennessee. 



Stockade Fort in O/uo.t 



where the stockade villages were prevalent, but the changes 
which came upon the Mound-building tribes, both North and 
South, broke up the early confederacies and in a measure obliter 
ated the Mound-builders cultus, so that we can, with no degree 
of propriety, use the term Indian when we would describe this 
earlier condition, even if we were convinced that the Mound- 
builders and the Indian were of the same stock. 

On this point there is great uncertainty, for the best authori 
ties maintain that there were from two to four races in the 
Mound builders territory. The pyramids at the South were 



* Antiquities of Southern Indians, p. 126, by C. C. Jones. 

t The stone fort in Tennessee and the earth fort in Ohio (see cuts above) illustrate 
the cultus of two periods. The stone fort was upon an eminence. It contained tw 
pyramids. One of these was occupied by two lookouts, twenty feet high. This fort 
Is on the bank of Duck Creek, just above a waterfall, and is full of the evidence of a 
skillful work and of an advanced people. The earth-work marks the site of an or 
dinary stockade village, located on the bluff, with the unfailing spring below. 



142 

occupied by a people who resembled the Polynesians, but the 
stockades of the North by a people who were more like the 
Mongolians. Relics of the Mound-builders resemble those found 
in Great Britain and the north of Ireland, and even suggest the 
transmission of the same myths and symbols from the eastern to 
the western continent. Let us look at the facts. In Goodyear s 
book on the Grammar of the Lotus,* is a picture of the divinity of 
the Gauls. In this picture the divinity is crowned with the horns 
of the deer, exactly as the Mound-builders chief, found in the 
depths of the mounds on the Hopewell farm in Southern Ohio, 
was crowned. f 

Mr. J. R. Nissley has described a pipe which combined the 
"cupstone" symbols, which are so common in Great Britain, with 
the serpent symbol. This pipe was in the form of a serpent, one 
cup mark in the head and another in the tail, the orifice between 
making the mouth-piece ; but on the base of the pipe were several 
cup marks, making the pipe doubly symbolic.^ 

The discovery of the Exeter vase of Nebraska, with its shal 
low receptacle and its four sides carved with animal heads, and 
the discovery of the Toronto pipe, with its distorted face, pre 
senting the symbol of the tree and serpent on its side, will lead 
us to the thought that there must have been a pre-Columbian 
contact with other countries. The progress of pre-historic 
archaeology is bringing out more and more the fact that there 
were great differences between the races. 

The skulls of the southern Indians certainly differ from those 
of the northern Indians, even if the language was the same. It 
is easy for a people to change language, but constitutional traits 
continue through many generations. The Cherokees, Iroquois, 
Dakotas, may have belonged to the same stock, separated from 
one another in the Ohio valley at some remote time, but they 
differed from the Muscogees and southern tribes, and as to the 
Shawnees, it is acknowledged they belong to a different stock 
from either. These facts should lead us to the habit of recog 
nizing differences. If we are to take the traditions of the Indians 
into the account, we shall conclude that the southern Mound- 
builders came from the West, the northern Mound-builders from 
the East or Northeast. 

If we are to obliterate all distinctions and to class the Mound- 
builders cult with the modern Indian, making out that the his 
toric tribes properly represent the pre-historic conditions, we 
may as well give up our study of pre-historic archaeology, and 
for that matter the study of the science of sociology also, and 
say that there was no difference between a savage warrior and a 
settled agriculturist, or between the animal worshiper and the 



::umnar of the Lo;u. 
Mich-lit Monuments. 

I See American Antiquarian, Vol. XIV, No. 4. 
9ee Tbomas a History of Cherokees. 



143 

sun worshiper, between the stockade-builder and the pyramid- 
builder. The term Indian has been applied to all classes and all 
grades and all districts, embracing the Eskimo fisherman, the 
Indian hunter, the southern agriculturist, Zuni, Pueblos, the 
civilized Aztec, the Maya, but it is not the general name that we 
need so much as the specific term, and so we prefer to classify 
the works of the Mississippi valley under the name which has 
already gone into use and to acknowledge that there was a 
Mound-builder s cultus. 

The theory that there was an American race which had only 
one language and pne origin, and that this race occupied the 
entire continent and filled it with one type of mankind, has 
this evil tendency, it prevents us from drawing a distinction 
between the different languages, customs, symbols, and forestalls 
any inquiry as to previous migration or pre-historic contact 
with other races, but this theory is even worse, for it shuts our 
eyes to the distinction between the earlier and later conditions 
and puts everything on one dead level. We need a closer analysis 
and minute distinctions rather than these grand generalizations.* 

If there was a historic, a proto-historic and a pre-historic period 
on this continent, we want to know the differences in the cults 
rather than the resemblances. These differences are shown by 
the specimens of art and architecture that still remain, and we 
need to study these so as to assign them to the different periods 
and races. When we study the pre-historic works, we recognize 
the differences between them and ascribe these not only to the 
different modes of life and religious systems which were adopted 
by the races, but we also assign the different cults to the period 
and age to which they belong? 

It was this mistake which that eminent author, Mr. L. H. 
Morgan.f made while treating of American Sociology and which 
many of his disciples are making to this day. He took the 
cultus of thelroquois, with which he was familiar, and made it a 
pattern for all the native tribes and races, reducing everything, 
civilized and uncivilized, to the same simple elements. The long 
house of the Iroquois served as a pattern to him for the houses 
of the Mound-builders, and seemed to prove that the same com 
munistic state everywhere prevailed. He went so far as to 
reconstruct a Mound-builders village after the same pattern, and 
placed the long houses on the summit of the walls, instead of 
inside the enclosure.! He imagined that the Pueblos, of Arizona, 
served as a pattern for the cities of Mexico and Central America 
and called all the places of that region communistic houses. 

He maintained that the civilized races, were all of them, not 
only organized into clans, but were in the communistic state; 



* See Brinton s American Race. 
t See Morgan s Ancient Society. 

$ See Norf h A merican Review ; see Morgan s Houses and House Life ; see Contri 
butions to Ethnol. Bureau, Vol. III. 



144 

that their cities were nothing but Pueblos and their kings noth 
ing but chiefs; that everything about them must be reduced to 
a primitive state and run in the same mold which the Iroquois 
furnished. 

II. We are to notice the variety in the architecture of the villages, 
especially when we are studying the village life of the Mound- 
builders and seek to recognize the differences between them and 
the other tribes or races. While we acknowledge that village 
life was universal in America, yet it differed according to locality, 
each race or tribe having impressed upon their villages their 
own ethnic states and customs. The tribes, to be sure, were 
composed of clans, and the clans were generally gathered into 
villages, each clan having a village by itself. 

The clans or tribes might be organized into a confederacy, 
the land belong to the confederacy, but it was divided and held 
by the clans and could not be alienated except by consent of the 
clans when assembled together. There was no such thing as 
property in severalty or landed property. Sometimes there was 
the removal of a nation by reason of defeats and oppressions, but 
the conquered tribes, when they felt that their territory had been 
invaded and could not be held against their enemies, generally 
moved as a body. Their tribal organization was stronger than 
their attachment to their lands. The graves of their fathers were 
precious to them, but they would rather leave these than to have 
their tribe broken up. The element of religion came in. Ances 
tral worship prevailed among many of the tribes and thus threw 
an air of sacredness over the abodes of their ancestors and made 
their villages permanent. The graves were near the villages 
and the precious remains were under the care of the villagers as 
such. It was like tearing up everything that was precious to 
them when they were forced to move. It was for this reason 
that the village clans remained so long in their territory and 
defended themselves by such novel methods. It was for this 
reason also that the same clans, when they changed from 
one district to another, became so thoroughly disorganized. 
Having been driven from their original territory, in which their 
clan life had found such embodiment, they seemed to have 
adopted the customs and habits of the people into whose terri 
tory they migrated, making the old village sites their abodes, 
changing the old works into new uses. This question, as to 
what became of the Mound-builders of any one district, is per 
haps to be answered in the same way. The Mound-builders 
were evidently as tenacious of their homes as the Cliff-dwellers, 
but there were tribes and confederacies which had long occupied 
certain regions and had reached a high stage of advancement 
and in the course of time had -constructed a most elaborate sys 
tem of works. These were driven off by the invading hosts of 
savage hunters and never again reconstructed their villages or 



145 

their homes. The change which must have come upon the 
country is exhibited as much by the different style of architecture 
which they adopted as by anything else. 

The Indian villages on the Atlantic coast and in the state of 
New York seem to have been more permanent than those on the 
western prairies. They were frequently surrounded by stockades 
and were connected with one another by trails. The Indian villages 
of Virginia have been described by early discoverers. The 
village of Pomeiock was pictured by the painter Wyeth. From 
this we learn the arrangement of the village. We see the fields 
of corn, fields of tobacco, garden full of melons, forests full of 
deer, a pond in the back-ground; a broad roadway passes 
through the village; on one side are the houses of the chief, the 
houses for the preservation of the dead, and houses for the fami 
lies ; on the other side the dance circle, the feast tables, and the 
mourning places. The houses in the village are rectangular, 
with curved roofs, and resemble the houses of the Iroquois. 

The picture of the village of the southern Indians represent 
the houses as circular, the roofs dome-shaped, with the stockade 
surrounding them. There is, however, no earth-work in either 
of these pictures. The villages were just such as were occupied 
by the later tribes when they were in a settled condition. These 
Indians, to be sure, might have possibly built earth-works at one 
time and abandoned the habit, but if so it must have been before 
the discovery. The natural supposition is that they were a 
different class of people, who came in after the Mound-builders. 
We divide the Mound-builders villages into several classes, 
which differ according to their location, both in their method of 
defense, their general arrangement, style of architecture, class of 
relics which they contain, and the mode of life which they 
exhibit. Those of the effigy mounds being in one class, the 
"burial mounds" in another, and military works in another, 
sacred enclosures in another. The most remarkable of these 
are in Ohio, for they show that village life had reached a high 
stage. The villages of Arkansas are also to be mentioned. 
These were filled with lodge circles, and in these were large 
pyramidal or dormiciliary mounds and occasionally a lookout 
monnd. These resembled the Ohio villages, in that they were 
square enclosures, but they had no such elaborate gateways, and 
no such watch-towers within the gateways, and no concentric 
circles or combination of circles and squares, and no adjoining 
enclosures which contained altars or burial mounds; they were 
plain village enclosures, in which all the purposes of village life 
were carried out and only a single wall surrounding the whole, 
the defense being given by this wall and a stockade placed upon 
the summit. They resembled the villages of the stone grave 
people of Tennessee, in that they contained many graves within 
the enclosure, as well as lodge circles and pyramids. These 



146 

may be called the villages of the pottery- makers, for large quan 
tities of pottery have been found in the enclosures. Entire 
mounds of large size have been opened and found full of nothing 
but pottery. The villages of the Gulf States were peculiar. 
These, for the most part, were destitute of any circumvallation. 
In its place, however, is to be found a large moat, which served 
all the purposes of a moat around a feudal castle, the defense 
of the village having been formed by a palisade of timbers, with 
gateways and, perhaps, draw-bridges. 

The chief peculiarity of these villages is that there are so 
many pyramids grouped around a central area, with the abrupt 
sides turned toward the moat o* fish-ponds, but the sides on 
which approaches and graded ways and terraces are to be seen 
are directed toward the central area. The villages of the eastern 
district of the Gulf States are also marked with pyramids, but 
they are generally pyramids placed in pairs one of them being 
rectangular, with terraced sides and graded ways for approaches; 
the other oval or conical, with its summit truncated, and a spiral 
pathway leading to the summit. In these villages was a chunky 
yard, also a distinctive/eature; the rotunda, having been elevated 
on the summit of the cone, was placed at one end of the yard, 
the pyramid, with the chief s house on its summit, was located 
at the other end of the yard. The area within the yard was 
used as the public square or campus, the dance ground or 
the place for the trying of captives. Descriptions have been 
written by various travelers, such as Adair and Bartram, who 
visited these villages when they were occupied by the Cherokees, 
so we that know exactly the use to which each part of the village 
was applied. Descriptions given by the Portuguese traveler, the 
historian of De Soto s expedition, reveal to us also the use which 
was made of the pyramids in the western district by such tribes 
as dwelt there at the time. 

The Tennessee villages were furnished with more conveni 
ences and show better provisions for defense, for subsistence 
and for the carrying out of all the purposes and customs con 
nected with village life, but they were, after all, arranged after 
the same general plan and show the same clan organization. The 
houses were generally arranged around a public square, within 
which the people assembled, making it a common campus. The 
temples, council houses, dance grounds and burial grounds they 
placed separately by themselves, making them somewhat exclusive 
and more sacred than their private houses. There were in all 
the villages provisions for the different classes governmental 
and common and conveniences for religious ceremonies, popu 
lar assembles, festivals and amusements, and for burials. 

In the ancient villages of Ohio, there seems to have been 
a separate enclosure for each of the classes and for each especial 
purpose. The clan elders had their houses inside of the square 



147 



enclosure and the people had their lodges inside of the large 
circle; but trie religious houses or round houses were located in 
a small circle adjoining the two, the burial places and dance 
grounds being placed in enclosures by themselves. Some of 
these villages in Ohio present evidence that there was a sacrificial 




MM 

4. i ^ iht hch. 



Fig. 10. A Mound-builders 1 Fort* 

place in the midst of the large enclosure, and human sacrifices 
were offered to the sun. 

This thought that the Mound-builders had reached a stage 
where the different classes were recognized and where conven 
iences were provided for them is worthy of notice, for in this 
consists one great difference between the ages. It matters not 



*Tbe works represented by this cut and the one on page 138 are situated in Butler 
County, Ohio. The difference between the walled villages and the forts will be aeeo 
from the cuts. 



11 be seen- 




148 

what stock or race was represented by the villages, yet the fact 
that there are earth-works which were occupied by the different 
classes shows that the cultus was entirely different from that of 
savagery. Savages may indeed have had chiefs and clan elders 
and priests or medicine men, but their villages were rarely built 
to accommodate these different classes.* The fact that there 
were different kinds of villages in the same territory is then im 
portant in this connection. It appears also that at one period 
there were tribal capitals or central villages, and perhaps places 
of tribal assembly for the observance of religious ceremonies, as 
well as clan villages. f 

The proximity of villages to one another and their location 
along the valleys of the streams show that the tribal system pre 
vailed, and that the tribes took the rivers for their habitats, the 
villages being the abodes of the clans. The discovery of the 
central villages and works peculiar to themselves proves also that 
there were confederacies which combined the tribes. These filled 
the districts with the works devoted to defense, government and 
religion, as well as domestic life, and so gave great variety to 
the earth-works. 

The defense of the village varied according to the locality. In 
some places it was secured by placing a heavy earth wall around 
the entire village; in others by placing the villages in the midst 
of isolated tongues of land, making the position a source of 
safety ; in others the pyramids were erected, their abrupt sides 
forming a barrier against approach, while the terraced sides and 
graded way furnished easy access to the people who might de 
sire to resort to their summits in time of danger. The groups 
of pyramids were sometimes surrounded by moats, which served 
as fish-ponds in times of peace but barriers in times of war, re 
sembling in this respect the feudal castles. There were a few 
villages that were destitute of circumvallation, though these 
were perhaps at one time surrounded by timber palisades or by 
stone and earth walls, which have disappeared. The size of the 
enclosures varied according to the population they were designed 
to accommodate. They varied from twenty-five to two hundred 
acres. In some casesj there were several adjoining enclosures, so 
that the village would be divided into two or three parts, the 
entire circumvallation extending several miles, including one or 
two hundred acres, and in other cases there was a single enclo 
sure, everything being included in that. 

Burial mounds are generally connected with villages. These 
vary also according to the district. Those in the prairie re 
gion form one class, those in Ohio another class, and those 
in the Gulf States still another class, recent explorations show- 

*Mr. Thruston thinks there was a division oflabor, and refers to the trowels dis 
covered among the stone graves as proof that the plasterers trade was followed. 

fAztlan, Marietta and Portsmouth were capitals; Newark, Circleville and many 
other places were clan villages. {In Ohio. In Indiana. 



E05S COUNTY, OHIO 

(Four niles north of ChiUicadit j 

Da.* i* 




VILLAGE BNCLOSUBE AND COVERED WAY. 

The works at Hopeton represent the character of the ancient Mound-builders 
villages. They were situated on the third terrace, just below an elevated plain; the 
rectangle measures 950 by 900. the circle 1,050 feet; twelve gateways, each 60 feet in 
width. The two circles meavure 200 and 250 feet; one covers a gateway, the other cuts 
into the square. The walls of the rectangle were 12 ieet high and 50 feet base. Two 
parrallel walls extend toward the river, 2,400 feet in length, 150 Ieet apart They ter 
minated at the foot of the terrace, where the river once ran, though a fertile bottom 
now intervenes. This covered way may have connected the village of Hopeton with 
Mound City, which is just opposite. This suggests the religious ceremony of cross 
ing the river with their dead, similar to that of the Egyptians. 



WODRflLS, 

BOSS CO. OHIO. 




SCALC 

MX3fll.Af Inch. 



VILLAGE ENCLOSURE AND DANCE CIRCLE. 

The Cedar Bank work Is a square enclosure, and is but half a mile from Hopeton. 
Between the two were the lanje trun- ated mound and circle, giving the idea that 
these were the sites of temples where the villagers worshiped. The works at High 
Bank consist of one octagon 950 feet in diameter, a circle 1,050 feet, and four small 
circles 300 feet; the walls were formerly 12 feet high and 50 feet at base. A large 
truncated mound 30 feet high was formerly on the terrace, a quarter of a mile away. 
A covered way connects the village with the circle on the bank of the river. The 
river formerly flowed near the bank and cut away the terrace and part of the circle, 
leaving the bank 80 teet high, but now it flows at a distance. An Indian town was 
situated a short distance below this point and an Indian burinl place on the brow of 
the hi 11, the two contrasting strangely with the ancient works of the Mound-builders. 
The plate illustrates the antiquity of the Mound-builders villages. 



149 

ing that many of the large mounds, both pyramids and pyrami 
dal and conical, were used for burial purposes. Altars have 
been found in some of them. 

III. We now turn to a comparison of the village enclosures. 
This comparison might lead us to consider the villages of all 
the modern Indians. We shall, however, confine ourselves 
mainly to the enclosures of Ohio, for these seem to be the most 
complete specimens of village enclosures to be found anywhere 
among the uncivilized races. We find in them the elements 
which go to make up village architecture everywhere. The fol 
lowing are the elements given by the Ohio earth-works: I, the 
circumvallation ; 2, the lodge circle, including the estufas; 3, the 
temple platform ; 4, the observatory or watch tower; 5, the cov 
ered ways, including the protected landing, or graded way; 6, the 
sacrificial place or sacred burial enclosure; 7, the fortifications ; 
8, the lookout mounds. 

We now take up the description of the villages, 

i. It should be noticed, that the villages of the different dis 
tricts all had circumvallations which were very marked. The 
villages of the emblematic mound-builders had effigies near 
them, those of the tomb builders had circles of burial mounds 
about them, those of the pyramid-builders had pyramids around 
them, and those of the lodge-builders had walls on the outside 
and lodge circles inside, to charactize them. In like manner the 
defenses of the serpent worshipers had the serpent effigy to char 
acterize them, and the villages of the sun worshipers had the 
circle, crescent, horse-shoe, and other symbols to characterize 
them, each district containing a different religious system and a 
different class of works which embodied it. 

There is this difference, between the villages of Ohio and 
those found elsewhere. The villages here were always char 
acterized by a double or a triple enclosure, one of them being 
a square and the other a circle or a cluster of circles. That at 
Newark contains five enclosures and three sets of parallel walls, 
with an effigy in one of the enclosures and many small circles 
scattered around among the covered ways. 

The most remarkable of all the village sites are perhaps those 
at Hopeton, Newark, Circleville, Highbank, and Twinsburg. 
That at Hopeton is the most beautiful, where there is a square 
and circle, and two or three smaller circles joining the squares 
on the outside. There are found on the third bottom. They 
consist of a rectangle with an attached circle. The rectangle 
measures 950 by 900 feet. The circle is 1050 feet in diameter. 
The gateways are twelve in number, and have an average width 
of about 25 feet. On the east side are two circles, measuring 
200 and 250 feet, the gateways or opening to the circles cor 
responding to the gateways in the square. The walls of the 
larger work are 12 feet high, 50 feet wide at the base. "They 



ISO 

resemble the heavy grading of a railway, and are broad enough 
on the top to admit the passage of a coach." It is probable 
that on the summit of these walls there was a timber palisade 
resembling those at Circleville, or possibly like those described 
by Dr. William Dawson as Hochelega. There are no ditches 
outside the wall, but a ditch inside that of the smaller circles. 
This characteristic of the Ohio villages has never been ex 
plained. It was probably owing to a peculiar social organiza 
tion, but that organization is now unknown, and we are left only 
to conjecture as to what it was. The square may have been 
used for the governing class, very much as the truncated pyra 
mids at the south were. The large circular enclosure may have 
contained the lodges of- the common people, the village proper. 
The small circles may have been the sweat houses or assembly 
places for the villagers. lu the cases where there are three 
enclosures, the third, which was a circle, may have been used 
by the priestly class, if we may suppose that there was such a 
class. 

2. We have said that the enclosures were used as clan residences. 
These residences were in villages. Wherever there was a clan there 
was a village, and what is more the villages were not built by 
individuals or by families, but were built by the clan. We are 
uncertain what kind of houses they were. They may have been 
frail temporary structures built of poles, covered with skins, 
bark or dirt, similar to those of the Mandans. They may have 
been circular lodges, such lodges as have left their rings in many 
places in the south and west. They may have been long houses, 
however, built after the model of the Iroquois long house. There 
may have been a difference between them, some of them being 
mere circular lodges or tents, others square or rectangular build 
ings, resembling those built by the southern tribes Choctaws, 
Chickasaws and Creeks. The sweat houses or estufas, or assem 
bly places, may have been circular buildings, resembling the 
rotundas of the Cherokees, while the house of the chiefs may 
have been square, or rectangular, similar to those which were 
erected on the summit of the platforms or pyramids of the Gulf 
States. There are lodge circles or rings with fire-beds in 
Ohio, such as have been found in Tennessee and Missouri, and 
in some cases in Iowa. These lodge rings, however, are sugges 
tive, for they show what might have been the arrangement of the 
houses among the Ohio mound-builders. These rings were 
generally placed in lines around the outside of a central square, 
or plaza, as the Spaniards call it. Somewhere in the enclosure 
there would be a high mound which was used as a lookout. This 
would be near the edge of the village. 

3. In the center of most of these villages there is a platform or 
truncated pyramid, which is supposed to have been the place 
where the chiefs had their houses. This is the uniform arrange- 



151 

ment of the villages, as they are found in the mountain district 
of Tennessee and in the cypress swamps of Arkansas and Mis 
souri. The arrangement of the Ohio villages may have beet 
the same, at least there are platforms, elliptical or circular in 
shape, which are situated in the center, showing that a public 
building of some kind was in the midst of the enclosure. 

4. The parallel walls form another peculiar feature of the 
villages of Ohio. These generally extend from the enclosures 
to the river s bank, but sometimes extend from one enclosure to 
another. They were probably intended to protect the people 
as they went to and from the villages. The works at Newark 
illustrate this point. (See the Plate.) These works are inter 
esting. They are situated in the midst of a fertile plain, which is 
surrounded by high hills on all sides, one hill being especially 
prominent, the hill on which the alligator mound is situated. 
The works are very extensive. They cover in extent about 
two miles square, and consist of three grand divisions, which 
are connected by parallel walls. The most prominent is the 
circular structure, which is called the old fort. The area of 
this structure is something over thirty acres. In the center of 
it is the mound ot singular shape, which is called the bird; the 
head of the bird pointed directly toward the entrance of the 
enclosure. This so-called bird originally contained an altar. 
It seemed to point out a religious design to the whole structure, 
and yet it may have been only a central object in the midst of a 
village, an object which would show that the villagers were 
peculiarly superstitious The gateway of this fort, so-called, is 
very imposing. The walls are not less than 16 feet in height, 
and a ditch within is 13 feet deep, giving an entire height of 
about 30 feet. "In entering the ancient avenue for the first time 
the visitor does not fail to experience a sensation of awe, such 
as he might feel in passing the portals of an Egyptian temple." 
Such is the testimony of the author of "Ancient Monuments," 
but the writer can bear witness that the same impression was 
made upon himseif when entering it for the first time. The 
circle is nearly a true circle, its diameter being 1189 by 1163 
feet. The circle is united with a square by parallel walls, which 
form a wide covered way. There is between the square and 
the creek or river another large enclosure, which is partially 
surrounded by walls, and which has a complicated system of 
covered ways connected with it. This seems to have been the 
central spot for the two villages which were located here. It 
may have been a place of assembly, a dance ground or a feast 
place. There is a single circle within it, a number of conical 
mounds, and a graded way which leads from it to the edge of 
the terrace, situated south of it. This graded way is a peculiar 
work, but is similar to those found at Piketon and Marietta. The 
chief peculiarity of the work is that there are parallel walls; 
two ot these, which are upwards of a mile in length, extend 



152 

from the works just described to the octagon situated west or 
northwest of the old fort or great circle. These parallel lines 
were probably covered ways, one of which connected the vil 
lage enclosures with one another, the other connecting the west 
enclosure or octagon with the bottom land and river s edge, 
though the two covered ways are nearly parallel. There is a 
third lipe, which extends from the octagon southward for nearly 
two miles This covered way loses itself in the plain. It may 
have been designed to protect the villagers as they went to and 
from the fields. 

In the center of the works, nearly surrounded by the covered 
ways, is a large pond, which may have served as a reservoir of 
water fot both villages, as access could be gained to it through 
the openings in the walls from either side. There are small 
circles scattered around among the works. These may have 
been the estufas or sweat houses, as they all have the same 
general appearance and dimensions. The chief feature of the 
work is the octagon and small circle.* The octagon has eight 
gateways, each gateway being guarded by an elliptical mound 
or truncated pyramid, 5 feet high, 80 by 100 feet at base. The 
circle connected with the octagon is a true circle 2080 teet 
upwards of half a mile in circumference. It has on the 
southwest side what was probably once a gateway, but it seems 
to have been abandoned and an observatory built in its stead. 
See Fig. 7. 

5. The watch towers and observatory mounds are also to 
be noticed. The observatory at Newark is very imposing. It 
is 170 feet long, is 8 feet higher than the general embankment, 
overlooks the entire work, and may have been used as a look 
out station to protect the fields adjoining. A number of small 
circles, which are called watch towers by Atwater, are found 
connected with the works, and are chiefly embraced in the area 
between the parallel walls. 

In reference to the works at Newark in its different parts, 
Messrs. Squier and Davis say: " Several extraordinary coinci 
dences are exhibited between them and the works situated else 
where. The smaller circle is identical in size with that belonging 
to the Hopeton works and that at Highbank, which are situated 
seventy miles distant. The square has the same areas as the 
square at Hopeton and the octagon at Highbank. The octa 
gon has the same area as the square at Marietta. There are 
mounds inside of the gateway the same as found in other places. 
The observatory here corresponds to the large observatory at 
Marietta, though that is somewhat higher. The small circles, 
which we call estufas, are of the same general character and 

*Each has a diameter of about 200 feet, has a ditch interior to the walls, and ele 
vated embankments in the shape of crescents inteiior to the ditch. This is the 
common form with all of the small circles which arc so numerous In connection 
with the village sites. 



153 



dimensions as those found at Hopeton, at Highbank, at the 
junction group, and at Chillicothe. The resemblances between 
the village at Newark and those tound elsewhere in this district 
are, we think, quite significant. We find in many of the 
other works, especially those on Paint Creek and in the Scioto 
Valley, that there are three enclosures, two of them being a 
circle and square, and a third being irregular in form, but gen 
erally larger than either the circle or square, This larger en 
closure sometimes intervenes between the circle aud the square 
and sometimes it is situated at the side of each, making a tri- 




fif/. 7. Observatory at Newark. 

angle with them. It is probable that the same use was made 
of this large enclosures in the other localities that was made of 
the large enclosure at Newark, the only difference being that 
connected with the circle and square, it constituted one village, 
but in this case it served for the two villages, the connection 
between them being secured by the parallel wall.* 

6. We turn to the description of the graded ways. These are 
very interesting works, but confirm what we have said about 
village sites. There is a graded way at Newark, another at 
Piketon, another at Marietta, and another is said to be situated 
at Piqua. They all have the same general characteristics. They 



*The reader will see this plainly by examining the plates in the Ancient Monu 
ments. See Highbank works, Plate XVI, works on Liberty Township. Plate XY, 
works on Paint Creek, Plate XXI, 1 and 2, and works on the Scioto near Chillicothe, 
and on the north fork of Paint Creek, at Old Chillicothe, Plate XXI, Nos. 3, 4. See 
works at Hopetou, XVII, also works in the Scioto Valley, Plate II, also at Blackwater 
group, XXII, No. 2. Clai ke s Works contains the square and the circle, but the cir 
cle is inside of the large enclosure, which is very much larger than the ordinary 
square, being 2800 by 1800 feet, and contains an area of 111 acres, instead of 50. 



154 

run from the terrace on which the village enclosure was situ 
ated down to the bottom lands. The bottom lands are now 
dry, but it is probable that at the time the works were built 
they constituted the river bed. The object of the graded way 
was undoubted to secure a landing places ior canoes. The 
rivers of Southern Ohio are still subject to floods. They were 
probably severer in prehistoric times. The walls on either side 
of the graded way would serve a double purpose; they would 
protect the villagers as they went to the water s edge, and would 
also keep the canoes from being carried away by the sudden 
rise of the water. The graded way at Newark has a tongue 
of land which extends beyond the walls. This may have served 




F ni. S -(.;>< i <lrd \\ <iij at Pikt lnn. 

as a sort of landing place or quasi wharf. Owl Creek, a small 
stream, ftows south of this work. The elevated grade was ex 
tended out to the water in this creek. In the case of the graded 
way at Piketon and at Newark the incline begins at the bottom 
land and rises by a gradual ascent to the summit of the terrace. 
The breadth between the walls at Piketon is 215 feet at one 
end and 203 at the other, but the way is 1080 feet long; the rise 
is 17 feet. See Fig. 8. The height of the wall, measured from 
the- lower extremity of the grade, is no less than 22 feet, but 
measured from the common surface varies from n feet at the 
brink to 5 feet at the upper terrace The ascent is very grad 
ual. At the upper extremity of the grade there is a wall which 
runs 2580 feet toward a group of mounds, which at present are 
enclosed in a cemetery. There is also another mound 30 feet 
high about 40 rods away. The object of this graded way is 
unknown, but judging from its similarity to other graded ways 
in the same state, we conclude that there was a village site on 



155 

the upper terrace, though there are no walls perceptible there. 
The graded way at Marietta is also very interesting. This has 
already been described. A distance of several hundred feet 
intervenes between the end of the graded way and the bank of 
the river, which is here 35 or 40 feet in height. It has been 
conjectured that the river flowed immediately at the foot of the 
way at the time of its construction. If so, it would prove the 
antiquity of the works to be very great. Graded ways similar 
to these in Ohio are found in Georgia in connection with the 
high conical mounds, but they generally lead to ponds, and may 
have been used for a different purpose. 

7. In reference to the association of the fortifications with the 
villages and the sacred enclosures, a few words will be appropri 
ate. It is explained by the peculiarities of clan life. It appears 
that among all uncivilized races the clan was the unit. The family 
was nothing when compared with the clan. In fact, the clan 
seemed to be more important than the tribe. It was much more 
important than the nation, if the nation existed. It is probable 
that the communistic system prevailed in most of the clans. 
Subsistence was secured by members of the clan. The burials 
may have been in clans, or by a number of clans uniting together. 
The so-called altar mounds were probably the places where 
several clans were brought together and presented their offerings 
and made their burials. The fortifications were also places 
where the clans came togeter for common defense. 

Many of these hill forts are situated in the midst of village en 
closures. One of them, that at Bourneville, has been frequently 
described. It is very large, containing 140 acres, being situated 
in the midst of the villages on Paint Creek. The Ancient Fort 
and that at Hamilton, on the Great Miami, were also large. These 
were situated not far from other village enclosures. The fortified 
hill called "Fort Hill," in Highland County, is not very far from 
villages, being but thirty miles from Chillicothe. The fortified 
hill near Granville is near the works at Newark, but it was prob 
ably built by a later race, as it differs very materially from the 
works at Newark. The ancient works on Massey s Creek, in 
Greene County, may have been erected by the typical mound- 
builders of the district, but of the works at the mouth of the 
Miami, on the Great Miami, in Butler County and Hamilton 
County, there is some uncertainty. Some of them may have 
belonged to the typical mound-builders, but others may have 
been built by an earlier or a later race. 

This is also the use which was made of Fort Ancient. A part 
of this had been built by a race of effigy-builders, the same race 
who built the great serpent and made it the great center of ser 
pent worship. A part of it. however, was probably built by the 
same people who erected the village enclosures, who were sun 
worshipers. There are some reasons for believing that the ser 



156 

pent worshipers migrated from this part of Ohio and afterwards 
became the effigy -builders of Wisconsin, as there are many ser 
pent effigies scattered along the bluffs of the Mississippi River, 
the route which they are supposed to have taken in their migra 
tion. The sun worshipers may possibly have been the same 
people, and yet the probability is that they migrated southward 
and became the pyramid-builders of the Southern States, em 
bodying that worship in the pyramid as they had here in the 
circles and crescents. 

8. The connection of the village enclosures with the lookout 
mounds is our last point. These lookout mounds may have 
been used by all of the different tribes or races which oc 
cupied the district, but it is plain that they were also used by the 
people of the village enclosures. Squier and Davis speak of 
the lookout on the top of the hill above Chillicothe, the lookout 
which commands a view of the whole district in which the vil 
lages were situated. The writer has visited the great mound at 
Miamisburg, and found that it commanded a view of the valley 
in which were the works at Alexandersville, and at the same time 
was connected with others which reached as far as Fort Ancient. 
One peculiarity about this mound was noticed. At a certain 
height on the side of the mound the view extended over the 
valley where were the various earthworks, but it was limited by 
surrounding hills or headlands. The summit, however, gave a 
view of other hills beyond these, and the writer was convinced 
that it was raised to this height in order that signals might be 
exchanged between those who were living in the Miami valley 
and those who were living in the valley west of it, thus showing 
that the White River and the Miami River were included in one 
district. Rev. T. J. McLean has also studied out the signal 
stations and made a complete net-work of them throughout 
Butler and Hamilton Counties, Whether this system of signal 
stations extended beyond the district which we are now describ 
ing we are unable to say, but we have no doubt that the signal 
stations were used by the village people who erected the typical 
earth works of Southern Ohio. Grave Creek mound may have 
been one of the signai stations, an outwork which was farthest 
to the east. The high conical mound at Marietta was another. 
The high conical mound at Circleville reached the height of 
ninety feet; this is another of the signal stations which were used 
by the village Indians. 




MOJNfK ri MOUND AT CAHOKIA, ILLINOIS. 




MONK S MOUND IN RELIEF. 



157 



CHAPTER X. 



PYRAMIDAL MOUNDS IN THE GULF STATES. 

One of the most interesting localities for the study of the pre 
historic monuments of this country is the one which is found on 
the banks of Cahokia Creek, some twelve miles from the City of 
St. Louis. Here the largest pyramid mound in the United States 
is to be seen, and with it many other mound structures, which 
are as curious and interesting as the great mound itself. It 
should be said that this is the northernmost point at which any 
genuine pyramid mounds of the southern type have been recog 
nized, but it is a locality in which all the peculiarities of that 
class of earth-works are exhibited. There is certainly a great 
contrast between these works and those situated in the northern 
districts; but the fact that this large group has been introduced 
into the midst of the northern class, and in close proximity to 
many specimens of that class, makes the contrast all the more 
striking and instructive. 

It has been the privilege of the writer to visit the various 
groups scattered along the Mississippi River from its head waters 
to this point, and to study the characteristics of each group as 
they were gradually brought before the eye. The contrasts be 
tween the effigy mounds of Wisconsin and the burial mounds 
of Northern Illinois are certainly very striking. The works of 
serpent-worshipers are, to be sure, intermingled with them, but 
the change from the pyramidal mounds to the burial mounds, 
makes the contrasts all the more impressive. 

The conditions of life in the different parts of the Mississippi 
Valley seemed to have varied according to the climate, soil and 
scenery, but they are so concentrated into a narrow compass that 
one may, by the aid of steam and the railroad train, pass in one 
day from the midst of the wild savage hunters of the north into 
the very midst of the works of the semi-civilized agricultural 
people of the south, and may find the whole panorama of the 
prehistoric races unrolled and the whole condition of society in 
prehistoric times rapidly brought before the eyes. Cahokia 
mound is at first disappointing (see Fig. i), for it is not as 
imposing as some have represented it to be, and yet the con 
sciousness that a great population once swarmed here and filled 
the valley with a teeming life made the spot a very interesting 
one. There was also a double presence which was forced upon 



158 

the mind the presence of those who since the beginning of 
historic times have visited the region and gazed upon this very 
monument and written descriptions of it, one after the ether, 
until a volume of literature has accumulated; and the presence 
of those who in prehistoric times filled the valley with their 
works, but were unable to make any record of themselves ex 
cept such as is contained in these silent witnesses. There is, 
perhaps, no spot in the Mississippi Valley which has been oftener 
visited by distinguished persons and no monument which has 
oftener gone into history. Descriptions of it began as early as 
the time of Marquette and the French missionaries; they appear 
again in the time of Gen. Rogers Clark and the conquest of the 
country from the Indians ; they come out again in the time of 
the early explorers and travelers, Brackenridge, Latrobe and 
others, and continue to the present day, missionaries, early 




. 1Oahokia Mound. 



travelers, military generals, historians and modern archaeologists 
vying with one another in describing the scene. We shall offer 
no minute description of our own, but shall quote from different 
travelers who have visited the spot and who have seen the earth 
works before they were so sadly despoiled by the aggressions of 
modern days. Probably not one fifth of the mounds and earth 
works which formerly covered this broad valley, and which also 
surmounted the bluffs adjoining, can now be seen. The growth 
of the great City of St. Louis has destroyed the last vestige of 
the large group which could once be seen there, and all of the 
pyramids, cones, "falling gardens," terraces and platforms, which 
once attracted attention, have disappeared. Twenty-seven large 
mounds once stood on the bluff, making it memorable as the 
location of a large village, which was similar in many respects to 
the one where the great mound now stands, but they have been 
destroyed and can not now be studied. 

We shall go back for our descriptions to the author who has 
given the earliest and fullest account J. M. Brackenridge. He 
says: "There is no spot in the western country capable of being 



159 

more highly cultivated or of giving support to a numerous pop 
ulation than this valley. If any vestige of ancient population 
could be found, this would be the place to search for it ; accord 
ingly this tract, as also the tract on the western side (Mound 
City, now St. Louis), exhibits proof of an immense population. 
The great number of mounds and the astonishing quantity of 
human bones dug up everywhere or found on the surface of the 
ground, with a thousand other appearances, announce that this 
valley was at one time filled with inhabitants and villages. The 
whole face of the bluff or hill which bounds it on the east 
appears to have been a continued burying ground. But the most 
remarkable appearances are the two groups of mounds or pyra 
mids the one about ten miles above Cahokia (a village nearly 
extinct), the other nearly the same distance below it which in 
all exceed in number one hundred and fifty mounds of various 
sizes. (See map.) The western side (St. Louis) also contains a 
considerable number. A more minute description of those above 
Cahokia, which I visited ini8u,will give a tolerable idea of 
them all. I crossed the Mississippi at St. Louis. After passing 
through the wood which borders the river, about half a mile in 
width, I entered on an extensive plain and found myself in the 
midst of a group of mounds, at a distance resembling enormous 
hay-stacks scattered through a meadow. One of the largest, 
which I ascended, was about two hundred paces in circumference 
at the bottom. The form was nearly square, though it had evi 
dently undergone some alterations by the washings of the rains. 
The top was level, with an area sufficient to contain several 
hundred men. The prospect from the mound was very beautiful. 
Looking toward the blurts, which are dimly seen at a distance of 
six or eight miles, the bottoms at this place being very wide, I 
had a level plain before me, bounded by islets of wood and a 
few solitary trees ; to the right (the south) the prairie is bounded 
by the horizon; to the left the course of the Cahokia River may 
be distinguished by the margin of wood upon its banks. Around 
me I counted forty-five mounds or pyramids, beside a great 
number of small artificial elevations. These mounds form some 
thing more than a semi-circle a mile in extent, to the open space 
on the river. Pursuing my walk along the bank of the Cahokia 
I passed eight others in a distance of three miles before I arrived 
at the largest assemblage. When I reached the foot of the 
principal mound, I was struck with a degree of astonishment 
not unlike that which is experienced in contemplating the 
Egyptian pyramids. What a stupendous pile of earth ! To- 
heap up such a mass must have required years and the labor oi 
thousands. Were it not for the regularity and design manifest, 
the circumstance of its being alluvial ground, and the other 
mounds scattered around it, we would scarcely believe it to be 
the work of human hands." Brackenridge also says: "The shape 



160 

is a parallelogram, standing north and south. On the south side 
there is a broad apron or step, and from this another projection 
into the plain which was probably intended as an ascent to the 
mound. The step or terrace has been used fora kitchen garden 
by some monks of LaTrappe settled near this, and the top of 
the structure is sown in wheat. Nearly west was another of 
smaller size, and forty others were scattered about on the plain. 
Two were seen on the bluff at a distance of three miles. I every 
where observed a great number of smaller elevations at regular 
distances from each other, and which appeared to observe some 
order. I concluded that a populous city had once existed here, 
similar to those of Mexico described by the first conqueror. The 
mounds were sites of temples or monuments of great size." 

We have given the quotation for the sake of showing the 
impressions which were formed by the works when they were 
first visited and when the country was in its native wildness, with 
no work of modern civilization to mar the scene. It will be 
learned from the description that there were at the time several 
large groups of mounds one situated on the bluffs where St. 
Louis now stands; another on the bank of the Mississippi River, 
not far from the present site of East St. Louis; a third on the 
bottom lands, about ten miles below the old village of Cahokia; 
the fourth about ten miles above the old village, which is the 
group in which we are especially interested.* We speak of this 
because there has been a general impression that the celebrated 
"Cahokia" mound, or more properly "Monk s" mound, is a 
solitary pyramid, and that it has no connection with any of the 
works in the vicinity. Mr. Brackenridge unconsciously corrects 
this impression, for according to his description the works of the 
entire region were all of them of the same class, the majority of 
them having been truncated pyramids. It should be said that 
there are lookout mounds at various points on the bluffs, which 
command extensive views across the country into the interior, 
and which must also have served as beacons or signal stations 
for the villages which were scattered throughout the bottom 
lands. Two of these are mentioned by Mr. Brackenridge as in 
plain sight from Monk s mound. One of these is now called 
" Sugar Loaf." It forms a prominent mark in the landscape, as 
its towering height can be seen at a great distance. So favora 
ble was the mound as an observatory that the Coast Survey took 
advantage of it and made it a station for triangulating. Our 
conclusion is that the whole system of works on the great 
American bottoms was connected together, and that here at the 
mouth of the Missouri, a colony resembling the race of southern 

Mr. McAdams says there is a group at Mitchell Station, half way between St. 
Louis and Alton, which contains several large platforms, one of them measuring 300 
feet on the side, 30 feet high. This mound was excavated for four railroad tracks 
and many relics taken out copper spools, awls, needles and an ornament resembling 
the shell ot a turtle, and most Important, the teeth of a buffalo. 



161 

mound-builders had long made their home, but were driven off 
at some time preceding the date of history by the hunter tribes, 
who came down upon them from the north.* 

We here make a record of an observation which amounts to 
a new discovery, It was noticed by the writer as he ascended 
the great mound that it was in the midst of a large group of 
similar mounds; that the mounds surrounding it were arranged 
in pairs a conical mound and a pyramid constituting a pair 
and that each one of these separate pairs was placed on lines 
which are parallel to the sides of the great pyramid, and that 
they were all orientated, the sides always facing the points of 
the compass. It was noticed also that in some cases the ground 
was raised between the truncated pyramid and the conical mound, 
giving the idea that there may have been here a chunky yard or 
play-ground, the same as there was between the public squares 
and the rotundas, which have been described by Adair and 
Bartram as common in the villages of the southern Indians. In 
one case, about half a mile to the east of the great pyramid, there 
was a high platform or pyramidal mound, and immediately ad 
joining it on the north was a large platform, but at a lower level 
and on the northeast corner of this platform, was a large conical 
mound, the three parts being in close proximity, the arrange 
ment of the three reminding one of the relative location of some 
of the so-called sacred enclosures of Ohio, where a large circle 
intervenes between a small circle and a large square enclosure, 
the three being joined together by protecting walls. This dis 
covery of the peculiar grouping of the surrounding mounds was 
made while looking down upon the scene. A very beautiful pair 
of earth-works stands immediately south of the great pyramid, 
each one presenting its sides covered with varied foliage, the 
golden autumnal tints being set-off against the silvery radiance 
of the little artificial lake which lay in the background. The 
size of the pyramids adjoining the great pyramid can be learned 
from the circumstance that nearly all of the large farm-houses in 
the region are built upon the summits, the pyramids being large 
enough to accommodate the houses, with their out-houses, barns, 
lawns and other conveniences of residence. One of these, the one 
at the west had been gradedjdown about^ eight feet, but others 
were left at their natural height. The houses are arranged along 
the sides of the common highway, which here constitutes the 
line between two counties, the distance from one end of the 
group to the other being about three miles from east to west, and 
two miles from north to south. The arrangement of the group 

*Ree Antiquities of Monk s Mound, published by W. R. Brink, Edwardsville, 111., 
1883: Foster s Prehistoric Races, p. 107: Ancient Monuments, p. 174; Twelfth Report 
Peabody Museum, p. 472. It should be said that the mound which Dr. J. H. Foster 
describes as having been removed was situated at Cahokia, and in that vicinity still 
goes by the name of the great Cahokia mound. We judge that this mound had a 
tower or conical mound on its summit 10 feet high, which, on exploration, yielded 
human bones, funeral vases and various implements. 



162 

is peculiar. There are pyramids and conical mounds close by 
the side of the great pyramid; beyond these are similar works, 
making several pairs east and west and several pairs north and 
south of the great pyramid, all of them arranged with their 
sides facing the sides of the central pyramid, and all of them 
overlooked by its towering height. There are also many arti 
ficial ponds, whose waters glisten beneath the dark shadows of 
the many earth-works, making a varied scene. 

2. As to the size and shape of the great mound, we shall give 
the descriptions of others, for the reason that many of them have 
had better opportunities for observing and measuring them than 
we have. It may be said, however, that the descriptions which 
have been written so vary in their details that we are uncertain 
which account to believe. 

Squier and Davis speak of the mound, but seem to have given 
the wrong dimensions. They say : " It covers not far from eight 
acres ; its summit has an area of about five acres ; its solid con 
tents may be roughly estimated at 20,000,000 cubic feet. It is 
nearly ninety feet high, is built in terraces, and is reached by a 
graded way which passes up at the south end." 

Mr. William McAdams says: " We have surveyed the group, 
and found that the great pyramid is surrounded by seventy-two 
others of considerable size within a distance of two miles. The 
largest axis of the pyramid is 998 feet, the shortest is 721 feet, 
and it covers sixteen acres, two rods and three perches of ground. 
He says : " After many days of exploration and study, we believe 
the evidence to prove this to be a group of the greatest mounds 
on this continent and perhaps in the world, and possibly this was 
the Mecca or great central shrine of the moimd-builders empire. 
Upon the flat summit of the pyramid, one hundred feet above 
the plain, were their sanctuaries, glittering with barbaric splendor, 
and where could be seen from afar the smoke and flames of the 
eternal fire, their emblem of the sun." 

Prof. Putnam says : " Situated in the midst ot a group of about 
sixty mounds of more than ordinary size, several in the vicinity 
being from thirty to sixty feet in height, and of various forms, 
Cahokia mound, rising by four platforms or terraces to a height 
of about one hundred feet, and covering an area of about twelve 
acres, holds a relation to the other tumuli of the Mississippi 
Valley similar to that of the great pyramid of Egypt to the other 
monuments of the valley of the Nile." Dr. J. J. R. Patrick, re 
siding in the vicinity, has made a survey of the group and pre 
pared two accurate models of the mound itself one of them 
representing the mound as it now exists. 

Featherstonaugh visited the mound in 1844, and says that the 
settlement of the monks was on a smaller mound to the west, 
but at the time of his visit the building in which they had lived 
had been leveled with the ground. He also states that a Mr. 



163 

Hill was living in a house he had erected on the top of the great 
mound; that upon digging for the foundation, "he found large 
human bones, with Indian pottery, stone axes and tomahawks." 
We judge from Brackenridge s account that there was no road 
way to the summit in his time, but that the one which now 
appears must have been made by Mr, Hill, the owner, and that 
the well which is now in ruins was dug by him.* 

In reference to the present condition of the mound, we have 
to say that an air of waste and ruin surrounds it ; deep gullies 
are worn into its sides, and it seems to be wrinkled and ridged 
with the marks of its great age. See Plate I. Though sur 
rounded by many other structures, on which there are signs of 
modern life, this" seems to be deserted. The very house which 
was found upon its summit has been leveled to the ground, and 
the home of the present owner, situated a little to the rear of it, 
seems to hide itself in the shadows of the great monster. It 
stands like a solemn monarch, lonely in its grandeur, but impos 
ing in its presence. Though the smoke of the great city may 
be seen in the distance, and many trains go rumbling across the 
valley and through the great bridge which spans the river, yet 
this monster mound stands as a mute witness of a people which 
has passed away. It is a silent statue, a sphinx, which still 
keeps within its depths the mystery which no one has as yet 
fathomed. It perpetuates the riddle of the sphinx. 

3. As to archaeological relics. It is remarkable that the spot 
continues to yield such an amount of them after so many years of 
exploration and curiosity hunting. In the field adjoining one 
may find beautiful fragments of pottery, some of which bear the 
glaze and red color which formerly characterized the pottery of 
the Natchez Indians. There are also vast quantities of bones 
hidden beneath the surface, and one can scarcely strike a spade 
through the soil without unearthing some token of the prehis 
toric races. Mr. Ramey, the owner of the mound, speaks about 
digging in one part of the field and finding heaps of bones eight 
feet deep, and says that the bones are everywhere present. The 
workmen who were engaged in digging ditches for underdraining 
had a few days before come upon large quantities of pottery and 
skeletons of large size, but had carelessly broken them instead 
of preserving them. As to the character of the pottery and the 
patterns contained in them, we notice some remarkable resem 
blances between the pieces exnumed.here and those which are 
found in the stone graves of Tennessee. One specimen was 

*A well was dug by Mr. Hill. This well was eighty feet deep. At sixty feet they 
found fragments of pottery and corn carbonized and bones. The water from the well 
was never used, as it always had a peculiar taste, and the supposition was that hu 
man bodies were buried in the mound. The cellar dug by Mr Hill showed the 
moSnd to be stratified. An excavation by Mr. Ramey, on the north side, revealed 
the same. A piece of lead or galena was found at the end of the tunnel, which ex 
tended about fifteen feet in towards the center of the mound. McAdams says the 
area on the top is an acre and a half. 



164 

especially interesting. It represented a squirrel holding in its 
paws a stick, the teeth placed around the stick as if gnawing it, 
the whole making a handle to the vessel. We noticed also a 
frog-shaped pipe made from sand-stone, and many other animal- 
shaped and bird-shaped figures. The object which impressed 
us most was a sand-stone tablet, which contained figures very 
much like those found upon the inscribed tablets taken from one 
of the mounds of the Etowah group in Georgia. It was evident 
that this tablet was covered with a mysterious symbolism, and 
suggested the thought that the same people who erected the 
southern pyramids, and who embodied in them the various sym 
bols of sun-worship, also erected here these great mounds under 
the influence of the same powerful religious cult. What that 
cult was, we shall not undertake to describe, but it was undoubt- 




F nj. J.Big Mound at St. Louis. 

edly a superstition which held under its control the entire people 
and led them to erect these great monument even at the expense 
of long and protracted labor. 

4. In reference to the symbolism which was embodied in this 
great work, we may say that the terraces are four in number, the 
first, second and third being about thirty feet in height, the fourth 
being at present but about jour feet, though it has been reduced 
from its original height. The terraces seem to cut across the 
whole face of the great pyramid on the south and west sides, 
but the north and east sides are steep and inaccessible. There 
is a striking analogy between this pyramid and the one at Copan 
in Central America. See Fig. I. There is also the same method 
of orientating the pyramids here and in Central America that is 
found in ancient Chaldea and Assyria, though here the sides are 




MONK S MOUND IN BELIEF. 



165 

toward the points of the compass rather than the angles. The 
pyramids are built in stages, though there are here only tour 
platforms; in Chaldea there are seven. Our conviction is that a 
race of sun-worshipers occupied this region, but it was a race 
which differed materially from the serpent-worshipers which 
dwelt immediately north of them and whose effigies we have 
recently discovered. We are aware that Mr. McAdams believes 
that the dragon was symbolized in some of the molded pottery 
and that the famous image of the Piassa, which formerly was to 
be seen on the face of the rocks near Alton, belonged to the 
same people who erected these pyramids. He also says : "As he 
looked down from the conical mound south of the great pyramid 
upon the pond which lies below, he seemed to be looking into 
the ever-present eye of the Manitou that had glared at him from 
the bluffs and caverns, and which is so common on ancient pot 
tery, the oldest symbol in the world." We are free to say that 
the pond does have a remarkable resemblance in its general con 
tour to the symbol which is composed of eyes and nose, and 
and which is supposed to have been significant of the face of the 
sun and at the same time contained the phallic symbol. 

It will be noticed that the pyramid mounds were built for a 
people who differed very materially from the wild Indians who 
roamed over the northern districts, as their tribal organizations 
and wild condition did not admit of the social grades which are 
apparent here. Still it is worthy of mention that a Kaskaskia 
chief told Gen. George Rogers Clarke that it was the palace of 
his forefathers, that "the little mountain we saw there flung up 
with a basin on top was a tower that contained a part of the 
guard belonging to the prince, as from the top of that height 
they can defend the king s house with their arrows." 

When the Indian tribes were visited by Ferdinand De Soto, he 
found the whole territory filled with walled towns. Sometimes 
they contained a population of several thousand inhabitants, and 
they were surrounded by palisades and protected by gateways. 
The house of the chief or sachem of the tribe was often built 
upon an artificial mound, and so-called temples or altars of wor 
ship were built upon raised foundations of earth. Some writers 
describe these mounds as -the places of burial for their dead 
chieftans ; but others as the residences of the chief or brother of 
the sun ; and by others it is stated that the house of the great 
sun stood upon one mound and the temple of the priest was on 
another mound both of the same height. % Here, however, we 
have not only the residences of the chiefs and priests, which 
were undoubtedly erected on the summit of the mounds, but we 
have in the center of them all the great temple. It is probable 
that this was the assembly place of the tribe, and that there was 
a building which corresponded to the "long house" of the Indians 
and the capitol of the white man, and that the different pyramids 



166 

were built for the accommodation of the chiefs and ruling men 
of the clans which may have lived here. The whole structure 
was significant of the grades of society which probably existed 
among the people. 

II. We now turn to the mounds formerly at St. Louis. These 
mounds were in some respects fully as interesting as those at 
Cahokia Creek. The peculiarities of the group were as fol 
lows: i. They were arranged in a line along the second terrace 
parallel with the river and in full sight of the stream itself. 2. 
There was in the center of the line a group which was in the 
form of an amphitheater, the back part of the group forming a 
graceful curve, but the front part being flanked by a pyramid on 
one side and the falling gardens on the other. 3. Several of 
the mounds were terraced, the terraces all being on the east and 




Fig. S.Map of Works at St. Louis. 

so situated as to give a good view of the river. 4. The big 
mound, concerning which so much has been said, was located at 
the extreme north of the line. This seems to have been attended 
by a series of irregular pyramids, all of them of large size and 
on high ground, so making the entire series to resemble the 
great terraced villages of the west, the pyramids being arranged 
in banks or steps along the entire bluft. 

The arrangement of the pyramids deserves attention. This 
seems to have varied according to the situation. Those in the 
vicinity of the Monk s mound extend nearly three miles in one 
direction and two in another, but the great mound occupies the 
center and overlooks the whole series. Cahokia Creek flows 
just north of the great mound and divides the group, several 
mounds being north of the creek. The group on the bank of 
the river near East St. Louis, according to the descriptions 
given of it by Brackenridge, was in the shape of a crescent, 



167 

which opened upon the river. This group was formerly situated 
where the business part of St. Louis now stands. It was ar 
ranged along the edge of the terrace for the space of about 
three quarters of a mile. In the center of the line was a group 
containing several pyramids, arranged about an open area, a 
pyramid at either side, the falling garden being situated at an 
angle of the area. The whole group was so arranged that a 
view of the river could be obtained from the summit of each 
pyramid. The group was in a sightly place, and commanded 
a view in all directions. See Fig. 3, 

Brackenridge describes this group as follows: "It is situated 
on the second bank and disposed in a singular manner. They 
are nine in all, and form three sides of a parallelogram, the open 
side toward the country being protected by three smaller 
mounds placed in a circular manner. The space enclosed is 
about 300 yards in length and 200 in breadth. About 600 
yards above this is a single mound, with a broad stage on the 
river side. It is 30 feet in height, 150 in length ; the top is a 
mere ridge 5 or 6 feet wide. Below the first mound is a curious 
work called the falling garden. Advantage is taken of the 
second bank, nearly 50 feet in height at this place, and three 
regular stages or steps are found. This work is much admired. 
It.suggests the idea of a place of assembly for the purpose of 
counseling on public occasions." Mr. A. C. Conant says that 
the "big mound" which once stood at the corner of Mound 
street and Broadway is the terraced mound represented by Mr. 
Brackenridge as located 600 yards north of the main group. 
He says there were formerly many other mounds in the vicinity 
of St. Louis, rivalling in magnitude and interest those just 
described. The second terrace of the Mississippi, upon almost 
every landing point, was furnished with them. The "big 
mound" was destroyed in. 1869. It was found to contain a 
sepulchral chamber, which was about 72 feet in length, 8 to 12 
feet wide, and 8 to 10 feet in height; the walls sloping and 
plastered, as the marks of the plastering tool could be plainly 
seen. Twenty-four bodies were placed upon the floor of the 
vault, a few feet apart, with their feet toward the west, the 
bodies arranged in a line with the longest axis; a number of 
bone beads and shells, sea shells, drilled with small holes, near 
the head, in quantities "sufficient to cover each body from the 
thighs to the head." 

We call attention to the arrangement of the terraces in this 
group. They seem to be directed toward the east or the river 
side, and commanded a view of the river and of the mounds 
upon the opposite side of the river. 

Mr. Say says: "Tumuli and other remains are remarkably 
numerous about St. Louis. Those immediately northward of 
the town are twenty-seven in number, arranged nearly in a line 
from north to south. The common form is an oblong square, 



168 

and they all stand on the second bank of the river. It seems 
probable that these piles of earth were raised as cemeteries, or 
they may have supported altars for religious ceremonies. We 
can not conceive any useful purpose to which they could have 
been applicable in war, unless as elevated stations from which 
to observe the motions of an approaching enemy. Nothing 
like a ditch or an embankment is to be seen about any part of 
these works." This remark about the "elevated stations" is a 
suggestive one. It may be that the people assembled upon 
these terraces to observe the scene sprerd out before them, a 
scene which abounded with peaceable pursuits. The valley 
was covered with a teeming population, large canoes were 
passing to and fro upon the river, villages were scattered over 
the rich bottom land in every direction, the pyramids on which 
the chiefs had built their houses loomed up in the midst of the 
ordinary houses in the villages, the lofty towers or lookouts on 
the bluffs, surmounted by sentinels or watchmen, were covered 
with beacon fires by night or with smoking signals by day, 
while in the midst of the scene the great mound stood as ^ 
gigantic temple, with its terraces covered with the troops of 
superstitious people, who assembled there to protect the shrine 
on the summit. Above this the smoke from the sacred fires 
arose in a spiral into the face of the sun. It was a scene sug 
gestive of busy life, but there was a strange superstition which 
pervaded everything, filling the air with its awe-inspiring effect, 
the sun being the great divinitv worshiped by the entire people 
its rising being met by adoration from morning to morning, 
and its course watched by those who regarded it as a divinity. 
It will be remembered that the celebrated picture rocks which 
Marquette describes as having been seen by his party, of which 
the natives seemed to be in mortal fear, were situated not far 
from this spot. These pictures have given rise to many strange 
stories. It is said that they were in the shape of huge animals, 
with human faces, horns issuing from the head, wings sur 
mounting the body, all parts of the animal kingdom being 
mingled into one hideous-looking creature. It is said also that 
there are caves in various localities, hidden away among the 
rocks. The bluffs surrounding the valley are strangely con 
torted. The lakes and ponds in the midst of the valley had 
formerly a wild, strange air about them. Agriculture was fol 
lowed here, for agricultural tools have been taken from the 
ground in great numbers, but it was agriculture carried on in 
the midst of wild scenes. There must haue been a -dense pop 
ulation, for it is said that the plow everywhere turns up bones 
in great numbers, and the sides of the bluffs are filled with 
graves, in which many prehistoric relics have been found. There 
is no place in the Mississippi Valley where so many evidences 
of the strange life and strange superstitions which prevailed in 
prehistoric times are found. 



169 



LIST OF MOUNDS FORMERLY ON THE SITE OF ST. LOUIS. 

The following table, which was taken from the survey made by Long s 
expedition,* and which is probably correctly given, will show the dimen 
sions and grouping of the pyramids, conical mounds and falling gardens. 
The big mound is the one farthest north in the group. 



NO. 


SHAPE. 


DISTANCE. 


Diam.Base. 


TOP. 


Height. 


REMARKS. 




"Spanish Bastion" 












2 


Hollow Sciuare 


N 259 


50 




5 




3 


Oblong Sciuare 


N 115. 


114x50 


80 


4 






Oblong Square 


N 251. 


84 


45 


4 




5 


Oblong Square 


W. 155 


81 


35 


4 








flstT. 




87 


19 




6 


Falling Gardens . .. 


\ 2d T. 




51 


30 








1 3d T. 




30 


34 


Top 11 4x88, 5 ft. high 


7 


(Conical 


N. 95. 


83 


34 




above the bluff. 


8 


Conical 


N. 94. 


98 


31 


r? 




9 


Conical . 


N- 70. 


114 


56 


16 




10 


Conical 


N. 74. 


91 


34 


10 




11 
I 9 


Square on the slope 
Square 


N. 158. 
W. 30. 


179 
129 


107 
50 


5 
10 


East side 20 ft. high. 


13 


Parallelogram 


W 30 


214x188 


134x97 


12 


Distant from No 5 


11 


Convex 


W 55 


95 


50 




250 feet 


15 


Square 


N W 117 


70 




4 




16 


Square 


N E 103 


124 






16, 17, 18 and 19 are 


17 

10 


Square 


N. 78. 
N E 118 


82 

77 








on a curve. 


19 


Quadrangular. . .. 


E.N.E.70 


187 


68 


23 


484 ft. N.N.W. of 13. 


?0 


Round 




20 




2 










25 






317 ft. W. of No. 16. 


00 


Quadrangular 


W 329 


73 




12 


23 24 25 and 26 in a 




Irregular 


N. 246. 


89 




12 


line, 245 ft. N. of 22 


27 


"Big Mound" 




319x158 


136x90 


34 


N N W of 19 1463 ft 




Top 1 1 feet wide. 
Terrace 79 feet 
wide. 













*See Smithsonian Report, 1861, p. 387. 

LIST OF LARGE MOUNDS NEAR EVANSVILLE, IND. 



NO. 


SHAPE. 


Circumference Base, 


Diameter of Top. 


HEIGHT. 


1 




585 


100 


15 


O 


Conical 


150 




g 


3 
4 


Truncated North 
Altar 120 feet 


402 
3x2 


60 


20 
14 inches 


5 


Conical East. 


150 




4 


6 


Terraced East 
Terrace 


1200 


150x55 
185 


50 
45 




Additional Mound 






15 


7 


Conical East 


90 




10 




Bastion Wall 


1 Mile 




2i 


8* 


Conical Half mile N E 


492 




50 













The group of mounds is surrounded by the bastion wall. There are 
mound-like widenings on the outer edge, 120 feet apart. Graves walled 
with slate are numerous. One cist was 8 feet long, 4 feet long and 4 deep. 
Dr. Floyd Stinson, Evansville, Ind., Smithsonian Report, 1881. 



170 

III. We take up the comparison between the pyramids. It 
will be noticed that there is a general resemblance, both in the 
shape of the individual pyramids and in the arrangement of the 
pyramids in the groups. Here at St. Louis one group has a great 
mound in the center with the other mounds around it; the other 
group has an open area in the center and the pyramids placed 
at the sides of the area, as if to guard it and make it a place of 
assembly.* 

We first turn to the comparison of the northern mounds with 
the pyramidal mounds in the Southern States, and are to notice 
the resemblances. The number and location of these pyramids 
are at present somewhat uncertain, but they seem to have been 
distributed throughout the entire region covered by the Gulf 
States. They are numerous in Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia 
and Alabama. A modified form of pyramid, not so large nor so 
well made, is found also among the stone graves of Middle Ten 
nessee, as well as among the lodge circles of Arkansas. Trun 
cated pyramids, or rather platform mounds, are common also 
throughout the southern part of Ohio, though they are not 
pyramids in any proper sense of the word. Still, if we take the 
shape as a standard, and consider the platform mounds having 
graded ways as one type of pyramid, we should find that the 
distribution of the pyramidal mounds was very extensive, There 
was formerly an elevated square or platform mound at Martin s 
Ferry, near Wheeling, and in connection with it a conical mound, 
the two reminding us of the rotunda and public square of the 
Cherokees. This is the easternmost point where such works have 
been seen. The westernmost limit of mounds of this pyramidal 
type cannot be determined, yet it seems that there are specimens 
of the kind at points on the Missouri as far north as Dakota and 
even farther. The pyramids found inside of the celebrated enclo 
sure called Aztlan, in Wisconsin (see Fig. 4), have been compared 
to those which are common in Middle Tennessee, and the walls 
with bastions surrounding the enclosure have been compared to 
those at Savannah, Tennessee, and to those at Evansville, Ind., 
and it has even been suggested that this ancient city was built 
by a colony from the south. It is, at least, the northernmost 
point at which pyramids have been recognized, the so-called hay 
stack mound in Dakota being considered a specimen. The pyr 
amids at Atzalan are on high ground, near the bastioned wall, and 
overlook the entire enclosure. There is a graded way to one 
of them and an elevated causeway connecting it with the lodge 
circles on the flat below. The effigies are just below the bluff 
or natural terrace pyramids. On the bank of the river are tw,o 
rows of lodge circles, with a level street between them. A low 
platform may be seen near the lodge circles and a pond near 

*The group at Madison Parish, La., resembles those at St. Louis, the great mound 
at Seltzertown those at Prairie Jefferson, and those near Washington resemble these 
on Cahokia Creek. 



171 

the platform. There are ponds near all the platforms and pyr 
amids, water seeming to have been an essential to the religious 
assembly places, as in all parts of the country. There are 
effigies within a mile of this enclosure, and it is supposed that 
the long irregular mounds inside of the enclosure were effigies. 
These pyramids in the ancient city of Wisconsin are inter 
esting because they show that the effigy-builders were also 
pyramid-builders and perhaps sun-worshipers. The assump- 




Fig. U. Pyramids and Effigies at Aztlan, Wisconsin. 

tion has been that marks of architectural progression were ob 
servable in the distribution of the ancient works. Prof. J. T. 
Short says: 

" Men all around the world have been pyramid-builders. The 
religious idea in man has always associated a place of sanctuary 
with the condition of elevation and separateness. The simple 
mound, so common in the northern region of the United States, 
represents the first step in providing a place of worship, the 
construction of an artificial hillock upon the summit of some 
bluff or hill. The next step would be the construction of some 
religious effigy representing animals sacred to the mound- 






172 

builders. The enclosures with the truncated pyramids, which 
are found in Ohio, would be the third step. The highest artis 
tic form is found in the truncated pyramid, with its complicated 
system of graded ways and its nice geometrical proportions." 
As a theory, this seems very plausible, but as a matter of fact 
pyramids are found among the effigies as well as enclos 
ures. The superstition which required the erection of earth 
works as the embodiment of their idea of sacredness is an 
element which is very poorly understood. Sun-worship and 
animal-worship may have existed together in Wisconsin, as 
serpent-worship and sun-worship did in Ohio. Fire-worship 
and serpent-worship seemed to prevail in certain parts of Illinois. 
The only district where sun-worship prevailed without any 
mixture of animal or serpeut worship was in the Southern 
States. Here it seems to have been mingled with idol-worship, 
the progress of thought being as perceptible in the works of 
art and archaeological relics as in the earth-works, the pyramid 
and idol having been associated in these southern districts. 

We base no theory on these facts, merely mention the locali 
ties where works of the pyramidal type have been discovered. To 
some minds they would prove a migration from the north or 
northwest to the south and southeast, and would show that the 
mound-builders gradually developed from the low stage of ani 
mal-worship up through serpent worship to the higher grade of 
sun-worship, the different types of earth-works marking the 
different stages through which they passed. To other minds, 
however, they would prove the spread of a secret order, or the 
wanderings of a class of priests or medicine men, who intro 
duced their occult system into the different tribes, making the 
pyramid the foundation for the houses in which they celebrated 
their mysterious rites. Another explanation is that tribes migrated 
from the south to the north, and that as they migrated they took 
the various religious systems which prevailed among them in 
their former condition, but in other respects they yielded to the 
new surroundings and became wilder and ruder in their mode of 
life, the pyramid being about the only sign of their former state 
that is left. These are, however, merely conjectural theories. 
The home of the pyramid-builders as such was not in north 
ern territory, for it is understood that the pyramids are mainly 
found in the Gulf States, and that in that region they were de 
voted to sun-worship, which is the cult to which the pyramids 
are sacred in all parts of the globe. 

As to the use of the pyramids, it has been generally sup 
posed that the pyramids were all built on the banks of streams or 
on low ground which was liable to be submerged. The object 
of building them was to make them a place of refuge or retreat 
in time of high water. Such may have have been the case with 
these works near Cahokia, on Cahokia Creek, and yet the pyra- 



173 

mids upon the west side of the river were upon high ground, on 
the third terrace, which is never reached by the water. The same 
contrast may be recognized in other places. Many of the pyr 
amids on the Mississippi River are on low ground, and near the 
banks of the river, or near some bayou which is conected with 
the river. There are, however, certain pyramids remote from 
any stream, and situated on high land and in such positions as 
to preclude the idea that they were built for retreats. The Mes 
sier mound is a specimen of this kind. It is not one of a group, 



^iPPPP^i 

> ^ 




Fig. 5. Works at Walnut Bayou. 



but stands apart, prominent in its size, marked in its peculiarities 
and attended with a single conical mound. This pyramid re 
minds us of the truncated platform at Martin s Ferry, West 
Virginia, though that is in the region where squares and circles 
are the typical shape. The Etowah mound, in Georgia, is on 
low ground which is liable to be flooded, but there are pyramids 
on the left bank of the Ocmulgee River, opposite the City of 
Macon, which are situated upon the summit of a natural hill, and 
occupy a commanding position. This, we think, disposes of the 
idea that the pyramids were built only for refuges for the peo 
ple in times of high water. They were evidently typical struc 
tures, which were erected under the power of some religious 
sentiments and were the results not only of the religious system 
but are significant of the tribal organization. The custom among 
these tribes was to place the houses of the chiefs and priests 
upon a higher level than those of the common people. There 
is a great contrast between the works of .the northern districts 



174 



- 

/^ "? 



and those found in the southern or Gulf States in this particular. 
In the northern districts the hunters life prevailed, and the people 
were on an equality with the chiefs and priests or medicine men. 
In the southern districts the people were agriculturists, but there 
existed among them a superior class clan elders, chiefs, and 
priests or medicine men, having great power; but the people 
were contented with their exercise of power. This was the case 
among the tribes after the beginning of history. We call them 
all Indian, but a great difference existed between the Indians 
who were mere hunters of the forests in the north and those 

who were the agricultur 
ists in the south. 

It is said that the public 
square was the place where 
all strangers were received, 
but this was the square 
around which the ruling 
classes had their houses, 
the people placing their 
houses outside, so consti 
tuting a center in which 
the chiefs were supposed to 
have lived. Some of the 
tribes seemed to have occu 
pied the old villages, but 
made the pyramids and 
other works useful. In such 
villages the ancient chunky 
yard was always at the cen 
ter, the conical mound at 
one end, and the pyramidal 
mound at the other, the public square or residences of the chiefs 
being upon the truncated pyramid, the assembly place or religious 
house on the conical mound opposite. The Cherokees used 
these structures. They built lofty council houses, rotundas, on 
the conical mounds, making the walls twenty feet high, and then 
lifting a peaked roof above these, the height of the rotunda attimes 
being at least sixty feet. In these buildings they kept up the 
sacred fire, which with its spiral flame and smoke was significant 
to them of the religion of their fathers. We can imagine how 
imposing these sacred houses were, especially when they were 
placed on the summit of these lofty truncated cones. The houses 
of the chiefs and clan elders seem to be equally sacred. They 
were difficult of approach, lofty stair-cases being built up the 
sides of the pyramids to them, and guards being placed on the 
terraces to defend them from sudden attack. We have a picture 
then of the pyramids as they were occupied by the southern 
tribes a picture which is suggestive of their origin and purpose. 







Fig. 6. Works at Prairie Jefferson. 



175 

This picture is drawn from the descriptions given by the various 
writers, the historians of Fernando De Soto being the first, and 
various travelers, Bartram and the Indian agent Adair giving a 
later view of the works. 

IV. We now take up the particular places in which pyramids are 
found, and shall describe their groupings and various peculiarities. 
The works at Madison Parish and Walnut Bayou, La, are first. 
Fig. 5. The group is situated seven miles from the Mississippi 
River; it consists of seven large and regular pyramids, and a 
graded or elevated roadway half a mile in length. The roadway 
is parallel with the bayou, but the mounds are twenty yards from 
it. The principal structure is 225 feet long, 165 broad, and 30 
feet high; has a terrace on the side next the bayou which begins 
at ten feet above the surface, is ten feet wide, and extends the 
entire length of the mound. On the south side is a roadway 20 
feet wide, which begins 60 feet from the base and leads with a 
regular grade to the top; at either end of the mound is an in 
clined platform 75 feet long, 60 feet wide, the lowest end raised 
only three feet from the surface. A similar mound, smaller in 
size, faces the pyramid, with a graded way and similar platforms. 
At the east side are three pyramids which are connected, the 
central one being 96 feet square, 10 feet high ; two others 60 feet 
square, 8 feet high, the three being connected by a wall or ter 
race 40 feet wide, but only 4 feet high. One of these terraces* is 
75 feet long, the other 125 feet long. The graded way is 3 feet 
high, 75 feet wide, 2700 feet in length. There are excavations 
on either side 200 feet long, 50 feet high, 300 feet wide. The 
relative situation of these pyramids to one another would indicate 
that they were the abodes of the chiefs, that the public square 
was between them, and that the houses of the common people 
were situated on the level ground outside of the pyramids. 

ANCIENT WORKS AT PRAIRIE JEFFERSON. 



NO. 


SHAPE. 


SIZE OF BASE. 


SIZE OF TOP. 


HEIGHT. 


A 
B 
C 
D 
E 

F 
G 
H 
I 


Square Pyramid . 


180x135 


51x45 
210x75 


48 
5 
4 
4 
10 
high. 
12 
12 
7 
10 


Square Pyramid 


Square Pyramid 


132x132 


Square Pyramid 


120x120 
16x42 
broad, 4 feet 
60x78 
60x71 
60x74 
36x45 


Square Pyramid 




Embankment, E to F. 135 ft. 


long, 15 feet 


Square Pyramid 




Square Pyramid 




Square Pyramid . 









Roadway is 1050 feet long, 12 broad, 3 high. Pyramids E, F, H, I, have terraces and 
same relation to the central mound. Dirt for embankments was taken from ponds. 



The works at Prairie Jeffereson resemble those at Madison Par 
ish. See Fig, 6. The group consists of six mounds, which vary 



176 

from 4 to 48 feet in height, from 60 to 210 feet in length, 40 to 
135 feet in width; all of them are regularly disposed with refer 
ence to the temple and the open campus between them. One 
mound, called the temple, has a level area on its summit, 51x45 
feet in diameter. It i5 reached by a winding way. The mounds 
which face this temple on the west have great uniformity of 
figure, being steepest in the rear, but having terraces in front 
which incline toward the plain or open space. There is an arti 
ficial pond near these pyramids, having outlets controlled as the 
mound- builders desired, the earth probably having been taken 




Fig. 7. Works in Bolivar County, 



from it for the purpose of building the mounds. One of these 
pyramids has been used as the site of a dwelling, reminding us 
of the structures situated near Cahokia. 

The group in Bolivar County. Mississippi, comes next. Fig. 7. 
It consists of two truncated mounds, occupied by two small 
conical mounds, the whole surrounded by a circular wall 2300 
feet in circumference and 4 feet high. The size of the pyramid 
is 175 feet square and 20 feet high. Another is 135 feet square 
and 15 feet high. The conical mounds are only thirty feet in 
diameter and 5 feet high. The pyramids are orientated. They 
do not vary from the points of the compass more than two de 
grees. 

At^the junction of the Ouachita, Acatahoola and Tensas Rivers 



177 

is a group in an enclosure containing about 200 acres of land, 
the embankment around it being about 10 feet high. Four of 
the mounds are of equal dimensions 100x300 feet at the base 
and 20 feet high. The fifth, which is 80 feet high, seems to have 
been designed for a tower. The base covers an acre of ground. 
It rises by two stages or terraces, and the summit is crowned by 




Fig. 8. Works at Seltzertown, Mississippi.* 

a flattened cone. The summit is reached by a spiral pathway, 
winding with an easy ascent around the mound, which is broad 
enough to permit two horsemen to ride abreast. 

The great mound at Seltzertown is next. See Fig, 8. It is 
near Washington, Mississippi, and consists of a truncated pyra 
mid 600x400 feet at the base. It covers nearly six acres of 
ground; its sides correspond to the cardinal points; it is 40 feet 
high, is svrrounded by a ditch which averages 10 feet in depth; it 

*MoundA, 180x135 feet at base, 51x45 at summit, 48 high; B, 200 feet at summit 75 
wide, 5 high: C, 132x132 feet, 4 high; L>, 120x120 feet, 4 high; E, 60x42 feet, 10 high- F, 
60x42 feet, 12 high; G, 60x51 feet, 12 high; H, 60x54 feet, 7 high; I, 36x45, 10 high 



178 

is ascended by graded avenues; the area on the top embraces 
about 4 acres; there are two conical mounds on the summit, one 
at each end of the pyramid ; the one at the west end is not far 
from 40 feet in height, is truncated, has an area of 30 feet in 
diameter. Eight other mounds are placed at various points, but 
they are comparatively small, being from 8 to 10 feet in height. 
This Seltzertown mound is more like the Cahokia mound than 
any other in the Mississippi Valley. It is not quite as large and 
is not surrounded by many earth-works, yet the two correspond 
in many particulars; These various pyramids which are scat 
tered along the banks of the Mississippi River irrdicate a very 
numerous population. We have no doubt that they mark the 
sites of former villages. They are very similar in their shapes 
and surroundings, were undoubtedly built by people of similar 
tastes and modes of life. M. Fontaine says: It is probable 
that the entire course of the river, from Cairo to a point fifty 
miles below New Orleans, is thickly studded with mounds. The 
whole region bordering the tributaries was densely populated by 
the same people." Mr. G. C. Forshey describes works, some of 
them of immense proportion, on the Mississippi River, and one 
at Trinity, in the Parish of Catahoula, Louisiana; the same 
writer observed a mound at Natchez 25 feet high. Prof. Short 
says: "These observations convince us that the State of Louis 
iana and the valleys of the Arkansas and Red Rivers are not 
only the most thickly populated wing of the mound-builders 
domain, but also furnished remains which present affinities with 
the great works of Mexico so striking that no doubt can longer 
exist that the same people were the architect of both." 

V. This subject of differences in population is an interesting 
one. We may take the different rivers which flow southward 
from the Appalachian range, and find that there are groups of 
pyramidal mounds scattered along the valley of each, charac 
terizing river systems. There seems to be a difference between 
the works of the entire district, those on the Mississippi River 
and its immediate tributaries being very different from those on 
the Chatahoochee, Ochmulgee and Savannah Rivers. 

We judge that there were two or three classes of pyramid- 
builders at the south. One class had their habitat on the Mis 
sissippi River. They erected their pyramids around an open 
area, connecting them with walls, the graded ways always 
being on the side ot the area, the pyramids abrupt on the other 
side. The design of this arrangement was apparently to make 
the pyramids themselves a sort oi defense. The pyramid-build 
ers in Georgia and Alabama depended more upon surrounding 
the pyramids with walls and ditches and less upon the pyramids 
themselves for their security. They rarely placed the pyramids 
in lines, and there seems to have been no provision lor an open 
area between the pyramids. The central pyramid was the 



179 



chief object .The various mounds and pyramids surrounding 
it were scattered promiscuously, without any special order, al 
though we may recognize the associating of the pyramid, which 
the public square, with the rotunda as frequently here as in the 
western district. 

We turn now to examine some of the groups found on the 
last named rivers. These have been made familiar to us by the 
works of Col. C. C. Jones and by the various reports which have 
been published by the Smithsonian Institute and the Ethnological 
Bureau. The most noted of these groups is the cne at Carters- 
ville, on the head waters of the Coosa River, some sixty miles 
south of Chatanooga, and about forty miles north of Atlanta. 
These mounds are sit 
uated in the midst of 
a beautiful and fertile 
valley. They occupy 
a central position and 
an area of some fifty 
acres, bounded on the 
east by the Etowah 
River and west by a 
large artificial canal. 
The moat varies in 
depth from 5 to 25 
feet, and in width 20 
to 85 feet. There are 
two reservoirs and 
an artificial pond near 
this moat. The enclos 
ure is protected by the 
river and moat, but 
it has no earth walls. 
See Fig. 9. Within the 




Fig. 9. Etowah Mounds. 



enclosure are seven 
mounds, three of 
them of large size, one surpassing the others in proportions and 
in interest. This central tumulus consists wholly of the earth 
taken from the moat. Its form is pentagonal ; its dimensions : 
length of the sides, 150, 160. 100, 90, 100 feet; diameter, 225 
feet; height, 65 feet; summit nearly level. The approach to the 
top is from the east, but was accomplished through the inclined 
plane which leads from one terrace to another. The terraces are 
65 feet in width and extend from the mound toward the south 
east. There is a pathway on the eastern angle which Mr. Jones 
thinks was designed for the priesthood alone. East of the cen 
tral mound, immediately adjoining it, stands a smaller mound, 35 
feet high, nearly circular in form, which has an easy communi 
cation with the terraces of the larger pyramid. In a westerly 



180 



direction, 250 feet, is a third pyramid. It is pentagonal in form, 
with a diameter of 92x68 feet, and is 23 feet high. Within the 
enclosure is a chain of four sepulchral mounds. Outside of the 
enclosure are two other conical mounds, Dr. Thomas thinks 
that this mound was visited by De Soto, and that it was the place 
where the ambassadors of the noted cacique of Cutifachiqui de 
livered their message to him. Dr. Thomas gives a cut of this 
mound, and says the broad way winding up the side answers to 
the description given by Garcilasso, the historian of the expe 
dition, better than any other in Georgia. The smallest of the 
three largest mounds of the group was opened by one of the 
assistants of the Bureau and was found to be stratified three 

horizontal layers, the lowest 
of loose loam, next of hard 
clay, the uppermost of sand 
and surface soil. There were 
stone cists in the loam, and in 
the cists many interesting rel- 
ics, a description of which is 
given at length. The most 
interesting relics are the cop 
per plates, which represent 
human figures with wings is 
suing from their shoulders. It 
is unusual to find winged 
figures in the mounds, yet 
enough of them have been 
found to establish the point 
that they were of aboriginal 
and prehistoric origin, and 
can not be taken as an evi- 

Fig. 10. Pyramids on Shoulder Bone Creek. , r , . . 

dence of the modern date ot 

these stone cists. Another peculiarity of these figures is that 
they have very peculiar head-dresses head-dresses which show 
the use ot the so called banner stones, as in two of them the 
head-dress is surmounted by one of these double-bladed axes or 
maces. These figures have in their ornamentation and other 
peculiarities Mexican or Aztec semblances, the same barbaric 
splendor being manifested in both. Dr. Thomas argues for the 
modern origin of these relics, and seems to think that the stone 
graves at the bottom of this pyramid must have been built by 
the Shawnees, a northern tribe, which at a late date happened 
to wander through this valley. The probabilities are in the other 
direction. The pyramid-builders were not wild Indians, like the 
Shawnees, but were a sedentary people more like the Musko- 
gees, and yet they may have been older or earlier than the 
Muskogees and of the same stock with the Mayas or Nahuas of 
the central province. 




181 



Col. Jones speaks of the stone idols, measuring fifteen inches 
in height, and numerous terra cotta images of birds and animals 
found inside these enclosures; also of stone plates and large 
shell ornaments. He says these relics were not common among 
the Cherokees, which confirms the impression that they were 
the results of the labor of the modern Indians. The great age 
of the structures is shown by the trees which formerly grew on 
them and by the abandoned condition of the group. Traces 
have been found of hearths or altars upon the central mound, 
giving evidence of the presence of fire and perhaps of sacrifice. 
The broad terraces and the adjoining pyramids would afford 
space for the assembling of the worshipers at the appointed 
hour, when upon the elevated eastern summit the officiating 
priest caught the ear 
liest rays of the rising 
sun as it lifted its face 
from off the shadows 
of the distant hills 
and smiled upon this 
beautiful valley. The 
terraces lie toward the 
east, and everything 
about the tumulus 
proves that it was 
erected for religious 
purposes and was con 
secrated to the great 
divinity of the sun. It 
is probable that the 
canals were used as 
fish preserves, as the fishes could be introduced from the rivers 
into the reservoirs and there propagated. Everything about the 
locality shows that it was a village of the Mound-builders. 

Next come the pyramids of Little Shoulder Bone Creek, 
in Hancock County, Georgia. See Fig. 10. This was also on the 
banks of a stream, and was surrounded by moats and excava 
tions. The total area is but four or five acres. There is but a 
single pyramid in the enclosure. It is a truncated pentagonal 
mound, measuring 180x184 feet at the base, 80x88 feet at the 
summit, 40 feet high. The approach was from the east, but the 
summit was perfectly level. A truncated cone, measuring 140 
feet at the base and 52x42 at the summit, 16 feet high, is near. 
This may have been the rotuada, though it is 150 yards distant 
from the pyramid. Within the enclosure, stone idols, clay 
images, with human shapes and others imitative of beasts and 
birds, similar to those in the valley of the Etowah, have been 
found. Every indication suggests that the locality was for a 
long period of time densely populated. 




Fig. 11. Pyramid on Ocmulgee Creek. 



182 






The pyramid on the Savannah River is next to described. 
This pyramid is situated twelve to fifteen miles below the City 
of Augusta. It is also surrounded by a moat. There are two 
mounds in the enclosure; the largest measures 58 feet in diam 
eter at the summit, 185 feet at the base; it 37 feet above the 
plain and 47 above the water level. The western flank of the 
mound extends for a distance of 20 yards. Beneath the surface 
is a layer of charboal, bones, shells, ashes and baked earth 12 
inches thick, showing a long-seated encampment. There was, 125 
feet east of this, a smaller mound, having a bsse diameter of 1 14 
feet, 15 feet above the surface of the ground. Terra cotta vases, 
pots, arrows, spear-heads, mortar pipes, bone and shell beads are 
found in the adiacent field. 

Next comes the mounds on the Ocmulgee, opposite the City 
of Macon. See Fig. 1 1. These are located on the summit of a 

_____ hill. The earth was takeu 

from a valley and con 
veyed to the top of the 
hill. There are four 
mounds in the group. 
One of them is a pyramid 
with three spurs or ele 
vated approaches, and an 
artificial plateau or plat 
form 8 feet high, 72 feet 
long and 93 feet wide. 
The summit diameters of 
this are 180 and 200 feet, 
its elevation 45 or 50 feet. 
It is not improbable that 
this was the central 
mound. There is a com 
panion mound or cone 
100 feet north. It is 10 
feet high, elliptical in 
shape, 128 feet in length. A third mound is distant 300 or 400 
yards northwest, and a fourth 400 yards northeast. An inter 
esting fact is that this mound was excavated while the track of 
the Central railway was being made. At a depth of three feet 
several skulls were exhumed, and associated with them were 
stone implements, Venetian beads, copper hawk bells. At the 
bottom of the mound a skull was found which was distorted and 
flattened, and differed in every respect from the first skull. Who 
these flat-head mound-builders were is a matter of conjecture. 
The Creeks did not claim that these tumuli were erected by them. 
They declare that they were here when their ancestors possessed 
themselves of the region. 

The Messier mound is next. See Fig. 12. This is a four- 




Fig. 12. The Messier Mound. 



183 



sided pyramid, 324 feet long, 188 feet wide, 57 feet high; the 
summit is 156 feet long and 66 feet wide. It is situated upon 
the summit of a hill. It stands apart, prominent in its size, and 
commands an extensive view. There are other smaller mounds 
near by. It is a large mound, and contains about 75,000 cubic 
yards of earth, which would weigh from 90,000 to 100,000 tons. 
There is a ditch and moat near by, which probably furnished 
the earth. Its area is about two acres; average depth, 25 feet. 
At one point an immense circular well, 60 feet in diameter, and 




PYRAMID 

OF 

KOLEE MOKEE 

EAttLY CO., GA. 

Surveyed ~by James JT. Evan*, 

County Surveyor. 

Scale: 20chs. to flie inch. 



Fig. IS. Walled Enclosure. 

40 feet deep, can be seen. There formerly existed in the vicinity 
lines of earth -works a mile in length. Mr. Jcnes says: "The 
Messier mound was erected not for defensive purposes, but as a 
temple. In the religious festivals of primitive people ablutions 
serve an important part, and the convenient presence of water 
was deemed essential." f^^ 

We might speak of other pyramids. One at Bobone, 9 feet 
high and 70 feet in diameter, stands on the inland tide marsh near 
the sea coast. The second is on the Kolee Mokee Creek, in 
Early County. See Fig. 13. The pyramid occupies the cente 



184 

of a fortified enclosure, around which there are extensive earth 
works or walls, with a prominent gateway and bastions at the 
gateway. The pyramid is 350 feet by 215 feet at the base. 181 
feet by 82 at the summit, and is 95 feet high. There is a pit at 
the south end of the pyramid, from which the earth was taken. 
A companion mound to this was 24 feet high, 72 feet in diame 
ter. A ditch leads from the mound to the creek, 20 feet wide 
and 400 yards long. The walls surrounding the enclosure are 
at present about 30 feet wide. They are very low, not over I cS 
inches in height, and probably mark the site of an old stockade. 
There is a double line of walls on the south or southwest. On 
Dry Creek, in the same county, is a burial place, where in an 
area of fifty-one acres, eighty-three mounds are situated. They 
vary in height from a few inches to 10 feet, in diameter from 15 
to 30 feet. This pyramid inside a walled enclosure is a rare in 
stance, for the majority of them are only protected by the moats 
or ditches. There are, however, fortifications in the state, but 
they are generally found upon the mountains. One is situated 
upon Stone mountain. Near the summit it has a gateway pro 
tected by a large overhanging rock, the fortification being very 
strong in its natural defenses. Another is on the Yond moun 
tain, which is a cone 4,000 feet high. Itis also walled with 
stone. Mr. M. F. Stevenson says : "All defensible mountains 
in this country were fortified. Neither the Cherokees, Creeks 
nor Seminoles had any tradition of the extinct race. The names 
of localities where mounds are found in this State are somewhat 
significant, A cemetery is found at Druid Grove; two are on 
the Black Beard River; the big mound is on Bourbon Creek; 
the eighty-three mounds are on the Dry Creek, in the /Sacred 
Grove ." 



185 



CHAPTER XI. 



DEFENSIVE WORKS OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

One of the chief things impressed upon us by the study of 
the Mound-builders works is the peculiar method of defense 
which prevailed among them. This method was, to be sure, 
one which they held in common with all other prehistoric races, 
but it was in strong contrast with all that have ever existed in 
historic times. 

We may imagine that their fortifications are like those of 
modern times, but when we come to consider them more closely 
we find them entirely different. A few words in reference to 
these differences will be in place here. 

1. The people to be defended. The picture before us is not 
that of a nation occupying a continent, nor of a people filling a 
State, nor a community occupying a township, but it is of a tribe 
occuping a river valley, or of a clan occupying a limited district. 
The clan was the unit of society. Each clan had its own burial 
place, its own place of religious assembly, its own chief, and we 
may suppose also its own stronghold. The method of defense 
was for the clans to gather and make common cause, the tribe 
itself being only a combination of clans. 

2. The class chosen to be defenders. The Mound-builders 
never attained to the modern method of employing a distinct 
military class for defense. There were no different classes among 
them, and scarcely any division of labor, All followed the same 
general mode of life, were either fishermen, or hunters, or agri 
culturists, the means of subsistence being common to all, and 
the responsibility of defense being shared by all. This condi 
tion of things secured safety to the people. They all were or 
ganized into clans, but the organization was such that every 
young man, when he was initiated into the clan, became a war 
rior. They became a race of warriors by this means. The 
obligation to defend the clan was made a condition of member 
ship. It has placed this duty before that of securing subsistence. 
The government was based on this system. There was a village 
government as well as a tribal one, each village having its own 
chief and its own council hpuse. 

3. The extent of territory defended. The Mound-builders 
occupied the Mississippi Valley, and their defenses are scattered 
over the whole region, every part of it giving evidence not only 



186 

of an extensive signal system, but of fortifications as well. Still, 
so far as can be ascertained, the system of defense which, while 
it embraced this entire valley, was one which was divided and 
adapted to limited districts. There are, to be sure, evidences 
that confederacies existed among the Mound-builders Where 
these prevailed the system of defense extended over compara 
tively large districts, districts which, in some cases, cover the 
half of a* modern State. As a general thing the territorv was 
more limited than this. It was the tribal territory that was de 
fended. The village was, to be sure, the clan abode, and this must 
be defended first, but the clans were organized into tribes, and so 
the system of defense embraced the habitat of the tribe. 

4. The means of defense are in contrast. These differ even in 
historic times. In modern days the forts are the main source of 
protection. The entire people are defended by the forts, The 
mediaeval method was to make the walled towns the chief source 
of protection, the castle being the dwelling place of the feudal 
despot. The ancient method was to surround the cities with 
walls and to make the citadels the chief source of protection. 
The prehistoric method was to make the village the permanent 
residence, depending on the clan organization as the main source 
of protecttion. The clan dwelt in the villages, and some 
times protected these with walls and sometimes left them without 
walls. Their chief defense seem sto have been in the forts. Were 
they clan forts or tribal forts? The probability is that they were 
the latter. They were placed in the midst of the villages for the 
protection of the clan as well as the tribe, 

5. The location is to be considered. We have divided the 
Mound-builders territory into different districts. The method of 
defense varied according to the location. In the northern re 
gions the wilder and more uncivilized races dwelt. These erected 
stockades resembling Caesar s Forts, built in the forests of Gaul. 
In the central regions were the agriculturists. These lived in 
walled villages resembling those of mediaeval times, their fortifi 
cations resembling castles. In the southern districts we find the 
system of pyramids, which resembled those of the ancient peo 
ple of the East, especially the Assyrian and Chaldean. On these 
pyramids the chiefs had their residence, and found protection in 
their height. The Mound-builders defenses embraced a great 
variety, if we take the different districts into account, and yet there 
was a resemblance between them. 

6. The stage of progress prevalent among the Mound-builders 
is another element bf difference. We may draw a parallel between 
the historic and prehistoric ages, locating the different grades 
in different belts of latitude, recognizing the stages of progress 
as we cross these belts. The defensive system is, however, very 
different. This system depended largely upon the condition of 
the people. There was never any such protection as that given 



187 

by the ancient cities. We must judge the two periods by differ 
ent standards. 

7. The religious system is perhaps the chief element of con 
trast. We shall find that religion was a prominent factor in the 
defenses of the Mound-builders, superstition being as powerful 
among them as among the modern savages. We can not omit 
the element of religion from prehistortc races. 

With these few remarks we now proceed to the study ot the 
different methods of defense among the Mound-builders. 

I. The first method to which we shall call attention is that 
which appears in the extensive signal and observatory stations. 
We have already called attention to this system in the chapter 
on burial mounds. We will now consider it more especially in 
connection with village life. The fact is that a system of signals 
by which the villages could communicate with one another, and 
through which the people could be aroused to the sense of danger, 
everywhere existed. The extent of this signal system was, oi 
course, dependent upon the extent of the tribe or confederacy, 
In some cases the system would be limited to the valley of a 
single river, or perhaps to a portion of the valley. In other 
cases it would extend across the country from one river to 
another, In a few cases the signal system extended even beyond 
these limits, and may be supposed to have reached out till it 
covered the whole country with a network of beacons and sig 
nals. The defense which this system gave to the Mound-builders 
can not be over estimated. The people may have dwelt in 
villages. Many of the villages were situated upon low ground, 
but the signal stations were so placed upon the high points sur 
rounding them that there was a constant outlook, and the pro 
tection covered a large region of country. 

I. We notice that this system was common among all the 
tribes of Indians. We have the testimony of explorers that it 
was very common in the far west. We present a few cuts which 
are taken from the reports of the Ethnological Bureau, and 
would refer to the remarks of Col. Garrett Mallery, Dr. W. J. 
Hoffman, W. H. Holmes and others. It appears that one method 
of signalling a village was to place a horseman on an eminence 
so that he could be seen in all directions. The horseman had a 
way of riding in a circle, and the sign was easily understood. 
The plate illustrates this, for here the horseman is on the hill 
and the village is in the valley, and the attacking party approach 
ing from a distance. See Plate I. Another method is to build 
fires upon prominent points, so that the smoke could be seen by 
day or the flame by night, and the warning be given in this 
way. This is illustrated by Plate II. This particular cut shows 
the signal which was given to convey tidings of victory, but 
similar signals were given also as warnings. The natives have 
a method of signaling by fire, which is peculiar to themselves. 



188 

The Dakotas, for instance, mix their combustibles so as to cause 
different shades of smoke; using dried grass for the lightest, and 
pine leaves for the darkest, and a mixture for intermediate shades. 
These with their manner of covering a fire with their blankets, 
so as to cause puffs of smoke, or of leaving the smoke to rise in 
unbroken columns, gave to them a variety of signals. Some 
times a bunch of grass was tied to an arrow and lighted, and 
shot into the air. The tribes of the southwest signal by this 
means. The Aztecs signaled to each other by fire during the 
siege of the City of Mexico. 



, 

~?r -^t.*iLjL . - --oS 




Fig. l.Hill Mound near Chillicothe. 

There are many signals among the tribes which are used in 
case of victory, and others for hunting purposes, and still others 
for purposes of recognition, but those for defense are the most 
important. We give a cut illustrating the method by which the 
natives now make signs to one another for the purpose of recog 
nition (see Plate III).* The same custom of stationing sentinels 
on prominent points as lookout stations, has been long prev 
alent. Circles of stones are often found upon elevated points 
of land, where a good view of the surrounding country can be 
obtained. These circles are common on the Upper Missouri, 
among the Dakotas in Arizona, among the Hualpai, among the 
Pah Utes of Nevada, in the Sho-Shonee country, in Wyoming, 
and in many other places of the far west. Frequentlv the ground 



*These Plates are reproduced from T he American Anti<ju<n-inn, Vol. V, No. :;. 



189 



around these watch stations is literally covered with flint chip- 
pings, as it was the custom of the sentinels to spend their time in 
making bows and arrows while watching. 

This signal system still prevails. It is more prevalent in an 
open country like the plateau of the west, and yet it probably 
prevailed in ancient times, in the region east of the mountains. 
Traces of it are seen among the Mound-builders. 




IXHIBITUie A SECTION OF SIX MILES 

/VAr 

GREAT MIAMI VALLEY. 

vrteft ifs Jnrienr JfonumeTity 

tf J. >t Er~i~ */ J.Wtrid*. 



Fig. 2. Map of 1^ orts on the Miami. 

2. The combination of signal mounds or observatories with 
beacons was a common method of defense. Some of these are 
accompanied with vast quantities of ashes, showing that beacon 
fires were long kept burning. In one case the ashes were thrown 
over a steep embankment, and yet were, when discovered, many 
feet in depth. Many of the burial mounds were used as watch 
stations or beacons, and it may be that a double protection was 
given by them. These observatories or beacon mounds are 
sometimes placed on very high points,f and thus they command 
the view of other points at a great distance. This idea is given 
by Dr. Lapham, in connection with Lapham s Peak, a high knoll 

tSee map of Scloto Valley, also of Miami Valley and of works at Marietta. 



190 

in Washington County, which commands a very extensive pros 
pect for miles in every direction. Dr. J. W. Phene in his visit 
to this country recognized the same in connection with the great 
serpent mound in Adams County, Ohio. He states that this 
work is located on an eminence, from which a view can be had 
of Lookout mountain, in Highland County, twelve miles away. 
The same has been observed by the author in connection with 
the works at Circleville. The great mound at Circkville was 
sixty feet high, and commanded a view of Lookout mountain, 
twelve miles to the south of it. On this mountain an observa 
tory was located which commanded a view of the works at 
Hopeton, situated just below, and the works at Chillicothe, 
several miles to the south of it. It is maintained by E. G. 
Squier, that such a series of lofty observatories extend across 
the whole States of Ohio, of Indiana and Illinois, the Grave 
Creek mound on the east, the great mound at Vincennes on the 
west, and the works in Ohio filling up the line. Other persons 
who have made a study of the works along the Ohio River main 
tain that there is a series of signal stations running up the 
branches of the rivers, such as the Scioto, the Great and Little 
Miami, the Wabash, and other rivers, and that all the prominent 
works through Ohio and Indiana are connected by a line of ob 
servatories, This net-work of signal stations is interesting it 
studied in connection with the village enclosures; as there are 
many scattered throughout this whole region. 

Here we call attention to the explorations of the Rev. J. T. 
McLean, who has described the location of the large mounds on 
the Miami River. He has shown that they were connected with 
one another and with the forts and villages on that river. See 
Fig. 2. The author has followed up the subject and has found 
that a line of signal stations extends from Fort Ancient, on the 
Little Miami, to the great mound at Miamisburg, on the Big 
Miami. The latter mound was raised to the height of sixty-five 
feet, so as to give a chance to signal over a range of hills situated 
just west of it. The great mounds at Grave Creek, at Marietta, 
at Chillicothe and elsewhere were placed on prominent points 
that they might serve as signal stations. 

Dr. J C. Proudfit has traced the signal system along the Mis 
souri River and has shown that it is very extensive. Hon. C.C. 
Jones has traced them through Georgia, in the Southern States. 
Gen. G. P. Thruston has traced them through Tennessee and the 
Cumberland Valley. Dr. J. H. Baxter has traced them on both 
sides of the Ohio River from Cincinnati to Louisville. We may 
suppose that the system extended over the entire Mound-build 
ers territory. It is probable that nearly all the large mounds 
were lookouts, and were essential factors in the military system 
of the Mound-builders. The distinguishing points of the system 
are as follows: 



191 

3- A signal station designed for defense is generally a mound 
located on a prominent point, in close proximity to sonie village, 
and is so connected with other observatories that signals can 
easily be exchanged. The signal stations on the hills commanded 
other stations at a great distance, so that no enemy cowld come 
within miles of the spot without being seen. Such a system 
of outlooks maybe seen surrounding the ancient capital at New 
ark, which was singularly situated in the midst of a natural am 
phitheater, while the observatories were located on the hills sur 
rounding. It has been stated also that observatory mounds are 
located on all the hills in this region, forming lines between this 
center and other prominent though distant points. A line has 
been partially traced from Mt. Vernon to Newark, the large 
mound in the cemetery at Mt. Vernon being one of the series. 

On a hill opposite Chillicothe, nearly 600 feet in height, the 
loftiest in the entire region, one of these signal mounds is placed. 
A fire built upon this would be distinctly visible for fifteen or 
twenty miles up, and an equal distance down, the valley of the 
Scioto, including in its range the Circleville works, twenty miles 
distant, as also for a long way up the broad valleys of the two 
Paint Creeks, both of which abound in the remains of ancient 
villages. In the map of the Miami valley a similar position ob 
served, and similar mounds occur along the Wabash, the Illinois, 
and the upper Mississippi, showing how extensive this signal 
system was, at the same time showing how intimately it was 
connected with the villages, The author has also, during the 
preparation of this paper, discovered sites of ancient villages near 
the lofty eminence called the Platte mounds, in Wisconsin, and 
the conviction has grown with the study of the works in all sec 
tions of the country that the signal system was closely con 
nected with all the prominent points, and that villages were 
frequently located near these points for the very purpose of se 
curing the defense offered by this system. 

4. The large conical mounds were used as signal stations. 
It took a long time to finish one of these conical mounds. The 
beacons or funeral fires may have been kept burning, and so de 
fense of the living as well as burial of the dead was accomplished 
by them. The fact that conical mounds were so often placed upon 
high points and commanded extensive views would indicate that 
the interchange of signals was very extensive. We have given 
elsewhere cuts of the large conical mounds at Grave Creek,* 
Marietta, Miamisburg and Vincennes. These were located near 
ancient villages and were connected with many other works. The 
mound at Vincennes is only one of a group which surrounds the 
city, and is said to mark the site of an ancient capital. These 

*Thls point can be seen in the cuts illustrating the articles on "Sacred Enclosures" 
and "Migrations". These cuts show how the signal stations and the forts are con 
nected with the villages. 



192 

are, however, only a few of the many localities. In fact there is 
scarcely a bluff along the whole course of the Mississippi River 
where some such beacon mound is not found. The same is true 
on the Missouri, the Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee, and 
other tributaries. It is the commonest thing for explorers to 
find burial mounds which were used as lookout stations. It is 
always interesting to notice how skillfully these spots are chosen 
and how extensive the views are from them. 

5. Beacon fires were frequently lighted on the walls of the 
defensive enclosures, and many elevated points within village 
enclosures were used for the purpose of signaling distant places, 
so that we cannot confine the signal system to mounds or iso 
lated stations, though as a general rule the signal system was 
outside and supplementary to the village enclosure. For illus 
trations of this see Plate representing the hill fort. 

We would refer here to the fact that in the ancient fortification 
at Bourneville, O., there was a rocky summit which overlooked 
a great valley below, on which traces of beacon fires have been 
discovered, and that upon the walls of the enclosure at Fort 
Ancient traces of fire have also been discovered. 

On the other hand there are many villages where the location 
of some lofty point near by would give great opportunity for ex 
changing signals either by fire or smoke for great distances. 
Many such points are seen in different parts of the country. 

Messrs. Squier and Davis mention the fact that between 
Chillicothe and Columbus, in Ohio, not far from twenty of these 
points can be selected, the stations so placed in reference to each 
other that it is believed that signals of fire might be transmitted 
in a few minutes. 

II. We now turn to the second method of detense. This 
consisted in the erection of stockade forts. It may be said that 
this was the common method of the wilder tribes and was pecu 
liar to the northern class of Mound-builders. There were three 
varieties of stockades: 

I. Those located on high ground, and which were naturally 
defended and needed only a double wall across the tongue of 
land to protect this. This is the simplest kind of a fort. Many 
of them have been seen and fully described in the northern 
part of Ohio.* Col. C Whittelsey has described some of these. 
They are situated at Conneaut, at Ashtabula, at Painesville, at 
Cleveland, and various places on the Cuyahoga River, near San- 
dusky, on the Sandusky River, and at many points along the 
valleys of these different streams which run into Lake Erie. We 
call attention to these works, as they illustrate the number and 



*See Tract No. 41, Western Reserve and Northern Ohio Historical Society, Ancient 
Earthworks. Seealso, Ancient Earth-Forts of the Cuyahoga valley, Ohio, Cleveland: 
1871. See History of Ashland county by Dr. A. H. Hill. See work on Mound-builders 
by Rev. I. T. McLean, and Aboriginal Monuments of Western New York, by E. G 
Squier. 



IFI1DJS.TIHPIHBI1D. JEHIWL 

fjJUIttf S.r. ttlla 
TOWN OF HAMILTON j 




t to the hch. 



FORTIFIED HILL IN OHIO. 



193 



situation of the works of the late Indians, and also show the 
difference between their works and those of the Mound-builders. 
It would seem that a perfect network of these defenses was 
spread over the northern part of the State. We give a cut of 
the fort at Newburgh, Ohio. See Fig. 3. This illustrates the 
style of fort. There are many such forts in Northern Ohio. 

It will be seen from these that the defense consisted mainly in 
the location. The walls were erected merely to supplement the 
natural defense which the rocky precipices and the isolated 
points of land would furnish. But with these inclosures there 
was also the combination of the outlook. Dr. Hill, of Ashland, 
O., has given this idea in his description of his works which are 
situated in Ashland county. He says, that here the forts are 
within sight of one another through the whole length of the 
river, those prominent 
parts, or tongues of 
land,which would give 
distant views having 
been chosen for the 
erection of forts. It 
should be said that this 
part of Ohio abounds 
with prominent bluffs, 
whose precipitous 
heights furnish excel 
lent defense. The Hu 
ron Shale is here worn 
down by the action of 

water, leaving terraces projecting out in scalloped form and which 
make a series of level platiorms, while the circuitious valleys be 
low make an open territory between them, and thus fortifications 
could be easily erected, and a complete system of signal stations 
be established along the river. 

2. Another type of stockade is common in the State of New 
York. It is also found in the northern part of Ohio, the for 
tification at Conneaut being a good specimen. Here there are 
remains of stockades, the stockades having been placed on the 
summits of the hills where an extensive outlook could be had. 
These stockades may have so been connected that a complete 
system of signals could be conducted across the country, and 
natives defend one another by the combination of the outlook 
with the enclosure. These ancient stockades have been de 
scribed by E. G. Squier, but the connection between them has 
not been traced. 

It is a fact, however, that this State was the seat of a great 
confederacy, that of the Iroquois, and this renders it probable 
that these prehistoric forts were connected by a signal system. 
It is known that the Iroquois had a complete military organiza- 




194 

tion; their central capital was at Onondaga, but there were trails 
running from this point throughout the whole State, and the 
villages were connected by the trails. It is known also that the 
Iroquois had stockades, and that they defended themselves 
against the whites by these fortifications. Some of the sites of 
the Iroquois forts have been identified. The boundaries of the 
different tribes are also known. Under such an organization 
the signal system would come into use, and we can imagine how 
completely the State was protected by the combined watchfulness 
of the people with the defenses offered by these stockade forts. 

There are descriptions of the defenses of the Iroquois which 
enable us to understand the military architecture of the prehis 
toric races. We give a cut taken from the Documentary His 
tory of New York, which illustrates the subject. It is a picture 
of a village of the Onondagas, attacked by Champlain in 1615. 
See Plate IV. "The village was enclosed by strong quadruple 
palisades of large timber, thirty feet high, interlocked the one 
with the other, with an interval of not more than a half of a foot 
between them, with galleries in the form of parapets, defended 
with double pieces of timber, proof against our arquebuses, and 
on one side they had a pond with a never-failing supply of water 
from which proceeds a number of gutters, which they had laid 
along the intermediate space, throwing the water without and 
rendering it effectual inside for the purpose of extinguishing fire." 

The picture illustrates several points, (i) The villages were 
frequently surrounded by stockades, the houses within the en 
closure being arranged in blocks. (2) The location of the en 
closure was convenient to water, and attended with natural 
defenses. There is no evidence of the signal system in this case, 
and the use of water in the manner described is uncommon 
among the northern races, though in the southern states there 
are many cases where the villages were surrounded by artificial 
ditches and ponds of water. (3) The manner of constructing 
the wall which surrounded the defensive village enclosures. We 
call special attention to the elevated platform or parapet, as it 
may possibly help us to understand the manner in which the vil 
lages of the Mound-builders were defended. If we substitute 
for this timber wall a solid earth work, making the top of the 
earth wall a platform or parapet, and place the barricade on the 
outside, we shall have a defense very similar to this of the Iro 
quois. The combination of stockade with an earth wall would 
thus make an admirable defense for a village, and with much less 
expense of labor and time than if it were wholly of timber. 

In reference to this Rev. William Beauchamp advances the 
idea that the erection of earth-walls as parapets preceded this 
method of stockades with platforms, but that the latter was 
found to be the easier method, so the earlier mode was aban 
doned. A view of one of these stockade forts is given by Sir 



195 

William Dawson in his work "Fossil Men." He has given a 
quotation from Carrier s voyage, which describes this fort at 
Hochelaga, and has given a cut of the fort as it existed. Ac 
cording to the cut the walls of the fort were built of round 
trunks of trees, rather than of planks, but the town was a reg 
ular circle, with the houses arranged around a square. "The 
city ot Hochelaga is round compassed about with timber, with 
three course of rampires, framed like a sharp spire or pyramid. 
It had but one gate or entry, which is shut with pikes, stakes 
and bars. Over it, and also in many places in the wall, there is 
a kind of gallery to run along and a ladder to get up with, and 
all filled with stones and pebbles for the defense of it. There 
are in the town about fifty houses, at the utmost fifty paces long 
and twelve or fifteen broad, built all of wood and covered with 
bark. They have in the middle of their towns a large square 
place, being from side to side a good stone s cast. They showed 
us the manner of their armor. They are made of cordes and 
wood finely wrought together." The diameter of this enclosure 
is given as about 120 yards, and each side of the square in the 
center about thirty yards. It was situated at the base of Mt. 
Royal, on a terrace between two small streams. The opinion 
is expressed that it was intended to accommodate the whole 
population in times of danger. 

3. A third class of stockades is one which we are now to con 
sider. It consisted in creating an enclosure capable of holding 
an extensive settlement, placing a heavy earth wall about the 
enclosure, and surmounting this by a palisade of timber. This 
was the common method among the Mound-builders of the 
ruder class. There are many such fortifications scattered over 
the Mississippi Valley. Some are situated in the prairie district, 
others in the forest region. Many such are found in New York, 
Michigan and Southern Ohio, but they should be distinguished 
from the regular Mound-builders forts. The peculiarity of this 
class of stockades was that they were very large. The area 
within them frequently amounted to thirty or forty acres, though 
twelve to fifteen acres would perhaps be the average. We may 
take the fortified hill near Granville, Ohio, as a good specimen 
of this class. It encloses the summit of a high hill and embraces 
not far from eighteen acres. The embankment is carried around 
the hill and conforms generally to its shape. The ditch is on 
the outside of the wall, the earth having been thrown inward. 
There are no palisades on the summit, but the probabilities are 
that these surmounted the wall and have perished Upon the 
highest part of the ground within the enclosure there is a small 
circle, two hundred feet in diameter, within which are two small 
mounds. Upon excavation, these mounds were found to contain 
altars. 

A fortification similar to this is described by Squierand Davis, 



196 

as existing near the sacred enclosure on the Scioto River. This 
also had a monnd in its center, and within the mound an altar. 
On this altar were discovered seme remarkable relics. The 
area of this was twenty-five acres. It is surrounded by a ditch, 
and has six gateways. The character of the work resembles 
that of an ordinary stockade fort. The only thing which would 
identify it as the work of the Ohio Mound-builders is its prox 
imity to the sacred enclosure called Mound City and the fact 
that it contained a mound with a paved fire-bed and the remains 
of a sacrifice. The Granville works contained a very large 
mound in the exact center, and yet had all the characteristics of 
the common stockade. The discovery of the paved altar in the 
fort near Chillicothe has been interpreted by some as proving 
the identity of the Mound-builders of Ohio with the stockade- 
builders of New York, but in the absence of other proof we must 
consider it a mere conjecture. Stockade forts like these were 
very common throughout the Mississippi Valley, but they are 
generally ascribed to the later rather than to the earlier Mound- 
builders. The prevalence of stockade forts in the midst of the 
Ohio Mound-builders works only proves a succession of popu 
lation. 

Descriptions of the stockade forts have been given by Squier 
and Davis. We would refer the reader to the work by these 
authors for more definite information. Nearly all of these 
have high mounds in the interior of the enclosure or in the 
vicinity, which vary from twelve to fifteen feet in height, and were 
probably used as lookouts. 

We give a copy of the plate (see Fig. 2) from the Ancient 
Monuments," which exhibits a section of six miles of the Great 
Miami Valley. No less than seven enclosures are in this space, 
the most of them forts. It will be noticed that, besides the square 
enclosure (C), there are three classes of stockades, i. Those 
which have remarkable gateways (A). 2. Those which have 
double walls, ditches and lookout mounds (B). 3. Those which 
have single walls across a promontory (G). The forts which 
interest us are those with the remarkable gateways. Some of 
them are on the terraces near the river, several are upon the sum 
mit of the bluff overlooking the terraces. In area they vary from 
eighteen to ninety-five acres. We shall describe at present only 
a few of these, the ones called stockades these being the 
largest. The fort marked A will be described under the head of 
"Hill Forts". It will be noticed that there are lookout mounds 
on all of the high hills; that the hill fort is isolated and well 
protected by walls on all sides ; that the stockade forts are on 
lower ground than the hill forts, being situated on the terrace, 
near the river. We make a distinction between these forts, be 
cause they seem to belong to different periods and were probably 
built by different classes or races of Mound-builders. We take 



197 

the one called the Colerain, six miles south of Hamilton. It 
encloses ninety-five acres. Its walls have an average height of 
nine feet. It commands a large peninsula, two miles in circum 
ference, formed by a singular bend in the river. It is upon the 
terrace, which is thirty- five feet above the river. Some distance 
from the fort, and still further to the south, is a hill three hundred 
feet high, upon the top of which are two mounds measuring five 
and ten feet in height ; they are composed of earth and stones 
considerably burned. There is a ditch on the outside of the wall. 
See Fig. 4. At one extremity of the works, the wall is looped, 
forming a bastion of singular shape. 

This fort is classed with the stockades. We elsewhere ascribe 
it to the serpent-worshipers, classing it with the old work at Fort 
Ancient and with the fort near Hamilton, and others. Our 
reasons for so classing it are as follows: i. Its great size. Squier 
and Davis say that it is a work of the first magnitude and com 
pare it to Clarke s Fort, on the north fork of Paint Creek. 2. The 
unusual height of the walls nine feet would indicate that it 
was no ordinary stockade. 3. The peculiar shape of the gate 
way. 4. The location of the fort. It is on the terrace over 
looking the flood plain. It is not a hill fort, and hardly answers 
to the stockade fort. It seems to have been a village perhaps 
a village of the serpent-worshiping Mound-builders. 

Two other forts, which we class among stockades, may be seen 
on this map. One is situated on the terrace near the river. It 
covers eighteen acres, and is surrounded by a double wall, with 
the ditch on the inside. The peculiarity of this fort is that the 
inner wall and ditch pass over a large mound, which is denom 
inated a lookout mound. 

The next fort in the series is situated on the Big Miami River, 
six miles south of Hamilton. It consists of a simple embank 
ment of earth carried around the brow of a high, detached hill, 
overlooking a wide and beautiful section of the Miami Valley. 
The side of the hill on the north, towards the river, is very abrupt 
and rises to the height of one hundred and twenty feet above the 
valley, from which an extended view may be obtained. There 
are two mounds of earth placed near together, on the highest 
point within the enclosure, measuring ten feet in height. The 
area of this enclosure is twenty-seven acres. 

Two other enclosures containing single walls and single gate 
ways are mentioned. One on Four-mile Creek contains twenty- 
five acres, and is situated on a promontory formed by a bend of 
the creek. The other is on Nine-mile Creek. Both of these 
have high mounds in the interior of the enclosure, varying from 
twelve to fifteen feet in height, which were probably used as sac 
rificial or lookout mounds. 

Two other fortifications are mentioned by Squier and Davis, 



198 

situated on the Miami River, one of them two and a half miles 
above the town of Piqua. It occupies a third terrace, which here 
iorms a promontory. It contains about eighteen acres, and is 
surrounded by a wall composed mainly of stone. The other is 
on the bank of the Great Miami, three miles below Dayton. It 
resembles the one southwest ot Hamilton. The side of the 
hill towards the river is very steep, rising to the height of one 
hundred and sixty feet. At this point there is a mound, which 
commands a full view of the surrounding country for a long 
distance up and down the river. A terrace, apparently artificial, 
skirts the hill thirty feet below the embankment. The terrace 
may be natural, but it has all the regularity of a work, and may 
be compared to the work at Fort Ancient. 




Fig, i^.The Works at Colerain. 

The next fort which we shall mention is also situated on the 
Miami. Fig. 5. It corresponds in all essential particulars with 
those already described, with the exception of the gateway. It 
occupies the summit of a promontory bordering the river, which 
upon three sides presents high and steep natural banks, rendered 
more secure lor purpose of defense by artificial embankments. 
The remaining side is defended by a wall and ditch, and it is 
from this side only that the work is easy of approach. The 
most interesting feature in connection with this work is the en 
trance on the south. The ends ot the wall curve inwardly as 
they approach each other, upon a radius of seventy-five feet, 
forming a true circle, interrupted only by the gateways. Within 
the space thus formed is a small circle, one hundred feet in diam 
eter; outside of which, and covering the gateway, is a mound 



199 

(e), forty feet in diameter and five feet high. The passage be 
tween the mound and the embankment, and between the walls 
of the circles, is now about six feet wide. The gateway or 
opening (d) is twenty feet wide. This singular entrance, it will 
be remarked, strongly resembles the gateways belonging to a 
work to be described under the head of stone forts, although 
much more regular in its construction. The ditches (f f ) which 
accompany the walls on the south subside into the ravines upon 
either side. These ravines are not far from sixty feet deep and 




Fig. 5. Works near Hamilton, Ohio. 

have precipitous sides. The area of the work is seventeen 
acres. The valley beyond the river is broad, and in it are 
many traces of remote population, of which this work was 
probably the fortress or place ot last resort during turbulent 
periods. ^The gateway of this enclosure resembles serpents 
heads, and reminds one of the entrance to the lower enclosure 
of Fort Ancient. 

III. We now turn to the third method of defense. This con 
sists in the selection of some "stronghold" of nature and there 
placing a fortification, walls of earth being placed on the sum 
mit of the precipice as a supplement to the natural defense, the 
whole designed to be a place of retreat in time of danger. To 
understand clearly the nature of the works, it should be remem 
bered that the banks of the rivers are always steep, and where 
these are located they are invariably high. The edges of the 



200 

table lands bordering on the valleys are cut by a thousand ra 
vines, presenting bluffs, high hills, steep and detached and iso 
lated heights with steep sides, and cliffs which are precipitous 
and often absolutely inaccessible. The natural strength of such 
positions certainly suggest them as the citadels of the people 
having hostile neighbors or pressed by invaders. Accordingly 
we are not surprised to find these heights occupied bv strong 
and complicated works, the design of which is no less indicated 
by their position than by their construction. 

Here let us say that these fortifications are to be distinguished 
from the walled towns or villages so common in certain parts of 
the country, especially in Southern Ohio. In reference to this 
we are to notice (i) that the fortifications are always placed on 
high and steep hills. Their walls always take the form of the 
outline of the hill, and hence are more or less irregular in shape, 
as they enclose the whole top of a hill and conform to the shape 
of the hill in contour. The walled villages are more regular. 
They are usually found on a level plain, one of the river benches 
or terraces, and have no natural barriers to prevent the regular 
ity of their shape. The square and circle predominate, and are 
often found united in a seemingly arbitrary manner. (2.) In 
point of size, the fortifications vary greatly. Some of them 
contain onlv a few acres; others contain from one hundred to 
four hundred acres. The fortified villages are, however, quite 
uniform; the area varying from eighteen to fifty acres, but the 
majority containing about twenty-seven acres. (3.) The posi 
tion of the ditch, whether inside or outside of the vallum or 
wall, is to be noticed. At one time it was thought that all 
works which had the ditch on the inside were sacred enclos 
ures, while those which had the ditch outside were fortifications 
belonging to the Indians. There is, however, no uniformity. 
The material taken from the ditch was placed in the embank 
ments, and in cases of fortifications on the hilltops it would be 
a matter of necessity that the ditch should be on the inside, the 
excavations or pits from which the dirt was scraped being in 
the immediate vicinity of the wall. The forts are found on the 
tops of the highest hills. They were sometimes surrounded by 
stone walls and sometimes by earth embankments, according to 
the convenience or abundance of the material furnished by the 
locality. (4.) Mound-buiiders forts in Ohio were characterized 
by much engineering skill, and are distinguished from later 
Indian forts by this circumstance. Some of the Mound-builders 
built their forts very large and placed elaborate and complicated 
walls at their gateways, exercising much military skill in erect 
ing the walls and planning outworks which would furnish the 
best protection. Others erected only rude earth walls, took no 
pains with their gateways and exercised little skill in their con 
struction. There are many such fortifications. 

This class of defenses we have called " hill forts." This term we 




EABTH FOBT IN HIGHLAND COUNTY, OHIO. 



201 

use for the sake of convenience, rather than for its accuracy. 
Nearly all the forts are situated upon hills, but the "hill forts" 
technically so called, are different from the ordinary class. Their 
strength consists in the fact that the hill upon which they are 
placed is itself a stronghold. The artificial wall placed upon 
the hilltop is only supplementary to the defenses of nature. The 
" hill forts" so called are very common in Southern Ohio. They 
are found at the mouth of the Little Miami River, on Brush 
Creek, on Paint Creek and in many other localities. Some of 
the largest forts in the Mississippi Valley are included in this 
class. Descriptions of "hill forts" have been given by Squier 
and Davis ; we shall draw from them our information. 

1. The first fort which we shall describe is called Fort Hill. 
"It is situated in the southern part of Highland County, thirty 
miles from Chillicothe. The defensive works occupy the sum 
mit of a hill five hundred feet above the bed of Brush Creek and 
eight hundred feet above the Ohio River. The hill stands iso 
lated, and is a conspicuous object from every approach. Its sides 
are precipitous. The fort has an area of forty* eight acres. Run 
ning along the edge of the hill is an embankment of mingled 
earth and stone, interrupted at intervals by gateways. The 
length of the wall is 8,224 ^ eet something over a mile and a 
half. The ditch on the inside has an average width of fifty 
feet. The height of the wall, measuring from the bottom of the 
ditch, varies from six to ten feet, but rises in places to fifteen 
feet. There are thirty-three gateways, most of them not exceed 
ing twenty feet in width. Considered in a military point of view 
the spot is well chosen and well guarded, and may be regarded 
as nearly impregnable and as a natural stronghold. It has few 
equals. The degree of skill displayed and the amount of labor 
expended in constructing its artificial defenses challenge our 
admiration and excite our surprise. The evidence of antiquity 
is worthy of more than a passing notice. The crumbling trunks 
of trees and the size of the trees which are still living would 
lead irresistibly to the conclusion that it has an antiquity of at 
least one thousand years." Plate V. 

2. We turn to the works at Fort Ancient. This is a remarka 
ble specimen of a " hill fort."* Here is an enclosure capable 
of holding an extensive settlement, the walls being nearly three 
miles and a half in extent, and the area of the enclosure being 
about one hundred acres. We see also an outwork, con 
sisting of a covered way. which runs from the enclosure toward 
the east. This outwork is distinguished by one feature: At 
the end of the covered way is an observatory mound. The sup 
position is that this observatory was the place where a watchman 
was stationed, but that the distance was so great that the com- 

*The book on Fort Ancient by W. K. Moorehead is the best authority. 



202 

munication might be cut off, and that the parallel walls were con 
structed so as to give protection to the sentinel and to keep up 
a communication. The country about the enclosure, especially 
that to the east, is open prairie and has no natural defense. This 
wall is 2,760 feet in length. The original height of this wall is 
not known, as cultivation of the soil has nearly obliterated it 
Two high mounds are found between the enclosure and the 
covered way, making a double opening to the enclosure, and, at. 
the same time, giving an outlook from this point. The enclos 
ure itself is remarkably well adapted to the purpose of defense. 
See Fig. 6. 

(l) Its situation is to be first observed. It is on top of a promon 
tory defended by two ravines, which sweep around it to either 
side, forming precipitous banks, in places 200 feet high. The 
ravines are occupied by small streams, with the Miami River 
close by, and below the works, on the west side. The hill upon 
which it is located is divided into two parts by a peninsular, its 
summit being two hundred and thirty feet above the level of the 
Little Miami. On the verge of the ravine the embankment is 
raised, and winds around the spurs and re-enters to pass the 
heads of gullies, and in several places it is carried down into 
ravines from fifty to one hundred feet deep. 

(2.) The Walls. The fortification is a strong one. Where 
the work is most exposed to an enemy it is of the greatest solid 
ity and strength. At the isthmus the walls are twenty feet high. 
Where the Chillicothe road enters from the west the walls are 
fourteen feet high and sixty feet base. There are over seventy 
gateways. These openings appear to have been originally ten 
to fifteen feet in width. It has been suggested that some of 
these gateways were once occupied by block houses or bastions. 
Although the wall is chiefly built of earth gathered from the 
adjacent surface and from the interior ditch, it is partially under 
lined with stone. One of the most interesting facts is the differ 
ent methods adopted for defending the more easy approaches. 
Here the wall is of ordinary height, but the ridge immediately 
outside is cut down several feet, so as to present a steep slope. 
This gives the appearance of a terrace a few feet below the wall, 
In reference to the terrace, there are important features, The 
isthmus just north of the so-called large mounds is undefended. 
This fact, as well as the difference in the construction of the 
walls of the different parts, has led certain persons to the con 
clusion that there were two forts, oue called the " old" fort and 
the other the " new". 

(3.) The Terraces. One terrace is located in the wildest re 
gion. It is situated in the southeast portion of the old fort. The 
terrace is covered with stone graves, the contents and construc 
tion of which have been described by Mr. Warren K. Moore- 
head. At the southwest there are two large terraces, between 



203 



the top and bottom of the hill. These terraces are supposed by 
many to have been merely natural, but by Squier and Davis, 
Moorehead and others they are thought to be artificial. It has 




been suggested that they were designed as stations from which 
to annoy an enemy. Mr. Moorehead dwells upon the terraces 
of the region, maintaining that they are all artificial. He gives 
the entire length of these terraces as amounting to ten miles. 
They are from twenty to twenty- five feet wide, and run along the 



204 

hillsides with surprising regularity of height, and have the ap 
pearance of structures designed for a purpose. 

(4.) The gateways of Fort Ancient are among its most import 
ant features. There are seventy-four of these, and they differ 
greatly in their dimensions. Some of them are thirty feet wide 
at the top and ten feet at the base ; others are twenty feet at the 
top and five feet at the base. The wall of either side is always 
sloping. In many places there are large quantities of stone at 
the ends of the walls. These stones lie in a confused mass, but 
it is supposed that they were used as a wall to hold and strengthen 
the embankment. The position of the gateways is also to be 
noticed. It appears that some of them open out upon the ter 
races; others open to the road leading down the hill, which is 
now occupied by the pike. One to the east opens out to the 
prairie region, but it is guarded by two conical mounds, and in 
stead of furnishing a passage-way to the open country, only leads 
to the long, narrow covered way which extends from this point 
to the east. 

The Great Gateway. The gateway is situated between the 
two forts. Here two mounds about twenty feet high and ten 
feet apart leave just space enough for a wagon to pass between 
them. At their base is a raised platform four feet in height. 
When examined it was found to contain many human bones. 
Outside of the gateway, in the space between the two forts, for a 
considerable distance, there is no embankment, the ravines here 
having a steep angle and coming very near together, so as to 
make a narrow passage way. All about this gateway are masses 
of stone. These must have been piled up in the form of a rude 
wall to strengthen the base of the embankment. Here the em 
bankment is the steepest of the entire earth-work. The stones 
are on the outside of the wall . "From the great gateway the two 
walls which constitute the old fort greatly diverge. The wall 
running east swings around to the south; the other wall runs in 
a very irregular manner and is more tortuous than any other 
portion of the entire structure." This is the place where we 
recognize the snake effigy. 

Other gateways are found at intervals on the different sides of 
the fort. The supposition of Squier and Davis is that some of 
these were formerly occupied by bastions and block houses. The 
so-called east gateway is the one which forms the direct entrance. 
It is a remarkable feature of the fort. It consists of two large 
conical mounds, which seem to have been placed at the openings 
both as guards and as lookouts. The dimensions of these 
mounds is givert as twelve feet in height and eighty feet in diam 
eter. Between these two mounds is a pavement laid with lime 
stone. The use of the pavement is conjectural. Some of the 
stones give evidence of having been subjected to the action of 
fire. The area of the pavement is said to be 130x500 feet. 



205 

(5.) The Covered Ways. Running due northeast from these 
two mounds are two parallel walls or embankments, about a foot 
in height and twelve feet wide. They run for a distance of 2760 
feet and terminate by enclosing a small mound, about three feet 
high. They are 130 feet apart. A suggestion has been made 
in reference to these, that they were used as a race-ground, and 
that the wall at the end was the goal or turning point. Our 
conjecture is that the mound was a lookout station, and that the 
walls were designed to protect the sentinels and to keep open 
communication between the fort and signal station. 

(6) The Isthmus. The division of the fort into two enclos 
ures has been noticed. A peninsula joins the two forts. This 
has been called the "isthmus." The isthmus, however, seems to 
be a sort of middle fort. Here we find crescent-shaped embank 
ments on one side and a great gateway on the other. "The space 
is well enclosed, and is one of the strongest positions of the en 
tire fortification." The crescent gateway, on account of its beauty 
and the curve of its walls, may be regarded as belonging to the 
new fort. The other so-called gateway may be regarded as be 
longing to the old fort. Here the question of symbolism comes 
in. We have said that the walls of the old fort resemble two 
massive serpents, and that the mounds at the end, which consti 
tute the sides of the gateway, represented the heads of the 
serpents. We now maintain that the crescents forming the 
gateway to the middle fort were also symbolic, and at the isth 
mus we find the clue to the character of the builders of the two 
forts. There is a crescent-shaped embankment near the western 
opening to the new fort. This we also regard as symbolic. We 
conjecture that the new fort was erected by the sun-worshipers 
and the old fort by the serpent-worshipers.* 

(7.) In reference to the old enclosure, it appears almost certain 
that a large village once -flourished within this fort. The wall is 
much more irregular than in the new fort. The terrace on the 
east side of the gateway has many stone graves. The stone 
graves are generally outside of the walls. "The terraces on the 
west side have scattered graves on them." Large quantities of 
stone were placed over the graves, one hundred wagon-loads in 
one place and forty in another. In the river valley below Fort 
Ancient was a village site. Ash-heaps were discovered here, 
and also many relics of a rude population. Five feet of earth 
were above the lowest site of the village. Well preserved skele 
tons have been found. "Three village periods have been recog 
nized, and the mingling of two races seems to be indicated by 
the relics." The new fort was evidently built by a people more 
advanced than those of the old fort. The walls are much more 
skillfully constructed, have more perpendicular sides, sharper 
angles, wider gateways, and give more evidence of workmanship. 

Illustrations of the different parts of this fort are given by Mr. W. K. Moorehead 



206 

3. The fortified hill in Butler County is another specimen of a 
" Hill Fort". This is situated on the west side of the Great 
Miami River, three miles below the Hamilton. The hill is not 
far from two hundred feet high, surrounded on all points by 
deep ravines, presenting steep and almost inaccessible declivi 
ties, skirting the brow of the hill and conforming to its outline. 
Its wall is ot mingled earth and stone, having an average height 
of five feet, by thirty-five feet base. The wall is interrupted by 
four gateways or passages, each twenty feet wide. They are 
protected by inner lines of embankments of a most singular and 
intricate description. 

The gateways in this fort are its distinguishing peculiarity. 
It will be noticed from the plate that they occur where the spurs 
of the hill are cut off by the wall or parapet and where the de 
clivity is the least abrupt. Two of them have the inner walls 
arranged after the same manner, with re-entering angles, curved 
walls, narrow passage-ways, excavations in the passage-ways. 
It will be noticed also that there are stone mounds on the sum 
mit of the hill near the gateways. 

This style of gateway has been called the Tiascalan, as it is 
common among the Tlascalans and the Aztecs. The ends of 
the wall overlap each other, in the form of semi-circles having 
a common center. The northern gateway is especially worthy 
of notice. The principal approach is guarded by a mound, 
which was used perhaps as an alarm post. A crescent wall or 
embankment crosses the isthmus, leaving narrow passages be 
tween its ends and the declivity. Next comes the principal 
wall of the enclosure. Within this are two crescent-shaped 
embankments, placed between two prolongations of the walls, 
making a series of defenses so complicated as to distract and 
bewilder the assailants. 

The stone mounds or beacons are to be noticed in this con 
nection. These mounds are placed on the summit of the hill 
at the very entrance of the gateways. Similar stone mounds 
are found elsewhere, and they form a striking feature of the 
" Hill Forts". It is probable that they were used as beacons 
and that fires were lighted upon them. 

The height of the ground is also to be noticed. It gradually 
rises from the interior to the height of twenty-six feet above the 
base of the wall, and overlooks the entire adjacent country. In 
the vicinity ot this work are a number of others occupying the 
valley. The location of this fort will be seen by a study of the 
map of the works on the Great Miami. 

4. Another " Hill Fort" that may be mentioned is represented 
on the same map. It is situated at the mouth of the Miami, six 
miles from Hamilton. It occupies the summit of a steep, iso 
lated hill, and consists of a wall composed of earth thrown from 
the interior. The three sides are as nearly perpendicular as 
they could be. The wall corresponds to the outline of the hill, 



207 

but it cuts off a spur, leaving a promontory outside the walls. 
On this promontory is a mound, corresponding in its purpose 
with that which guards the principal avenue in the fortified hill 
just described. This fort was visited by Gen. Harrison and was 
regarded by him as admirably designed for defense, exhibiting 
extraording military skill and as a citadel to be compared to the 
Acropolis at Athens. 

5. Two "Hill Forts" remain to be described. One of these 
is situated on the Big Twin, near Farmersville. It has been de 
scribed by Mr. S. H. Brinkley. Its form is an irregular triangle, 



L. 



SURVIYID. is/5 By S.H.B.. ^SSISTED ey c.r BLOSSOM 




Fig. 7. Farmersville Fort. 

two sides resting upon the margins of wide ravines, the third 
on the Big Twin. The wall extends along the edge of the 
ravine; it is five feet high and forty feet wide; is flanked by a 
ditch on the inside. The entire length is two hundred and sixty- 
seven feet. There are three enclosures within this fort; two in 
the shape of horse-shoes; the third is a small circle. One of 
the horse-shoe enclosures has a diameter of three hundred and 
eighty feet north and south, four hundred feet east and west. 
The diameter of the other is one hundred and eighty-five feet 
and one hundred in width. The circle is but twenty-five feet 
in diameter. It is placed at the entrance of tne larger enclosure, 
which is here forty feet wide. See Fig. 7. 

These remarkable enclosures have been excavated and found 
to contain fire-beds or hearths filled with charcoal and ashes. 



208 

The supposition is that these hearths marked the sites of lodges. 
The shape of the enclosure is remarkable. It reminds us of the 
horse-shoes at Portsmouth, Ohio. What is strange is that a 
stone object wrought out of dark shale, with an exact represen 
tation of a horse-shoe upon it, was found in an adjacent field. 

The gateway to the horse-shoe enclosure is noticeable. It is 
an exact circle twenty-five feet in diameter. This circle was 
placed at the entrance of the enclosure, partially filling the 
space, the entire opening being forty feet; but the circle took 
a little more than twenty-five feet, leaving a space or passage 
way on either side of it. Mr. Brinkley s idea is that the circle 
was the council house and that the horse-shoe enclosure was the 
place of residence. This is plausible, and yet it is the only en 
closure of the kind which hasten discovered. The other fort 
which Mr. Brinkley has described is also situated on the Big 
Twin, a tributary of the Great Miami. Its location is on a hill 
or bluff near Carlisle, so it has been called Carlisle Fort. See 
Fig. 8. The work comprises two distinct enclosures. The 
eastern division contains about nine acres, the western about six 
acres; the eastern division is protected by the precipitous bluffs 
which border upon the Big Twin, or rather which overlook the 
bottom lands or terrace of the Big Twin. On the north and 
south there are deep ravines, which protect it on those sides. 
The space between the two enclosures is made secure by a re 
markable combination ot walls in the form of a symetncal cres 
cent, three successive lines stretching, in graceful bends, from 
one ravine to the other, leaving a space between of forty feet 
and sixty-five feet, measured at the middle point. The inner 
wall is continued along the crest of the ravine, and forms a cir- 
cumvallation for the fort. The length of the crescent-shaped 
wall is about four hundred and fifty feet; the height was origi 
nally about five feet. The western enclosure is protected by a 
ravine which passes around three sides of it. On the summit, 
overlooking this, there is a circumvallation, which is about three 
hundred and fifty yards in length and encloses about six acres. 
At a point between the two forts there is a ravine which parti 
ally separates them, but from which a spring flows into the 
bottom land. Above this ravine is a wall, which protects the 
western fort, and near the wall two circular enclosures, which 
seem to have formed guards to the gateway or entrance to the 
fort, though they may have had connection with the spring be 
low. In the eastern division there was a stone enclosure, sev 
enty-eight feet in length and forty-five feet in breadth, in the 
shape of a horse shoe, with a return at each corner, leaving an 
open space one-third of the width, fronting the east. The ob 
ject of this horse-shoe enclosure is unknown. Mr. Brinkley 
thinks it was the foundation of a building, but of this there are 
no proofs. We would here call attention to the resemblance of 
Carlisle Fort to that at Fort Ancient. It is a double fort, the 




STONE FORT IN BOSS COUNTY, OHIO. 




tSNIVEKSITT 



209 



two enclosures being separated by an isthmus, guarded by triple 
crescent-shaped walls. The entrance to this fort is by a path 
consisting of a most delightful promenade, which leads by an 
easy grade from the fort to the terrace. "The promenade is 
located on a ridge, but improved by the plastic hand of man." 
This promenade is on the side which leads to the Big Twin. One 
remarkable feature of this gateway is that near it there was a 
signal station or 
lookout mound and 
not far from the 
mound a pavement 
or fire-bed, beneath 
which were traces 
of fire. 

This hearth or 
fire-bed is worthy 
of notice. The evi 
dence is that here, 
as at the Farmers- 
ville Fort, there 
were fire signals. 
The walls near the 
gateway show this 
as well as the pave 
ment. Near the 
Big Twin works 
there was a trun 
cated mound thir 
teen feet high and 
a pavement ninety 
feet square. Near 
this pavement were 
ashpiles, which had 
been poured over 
the sides of the clift, 
until they had at 
tained a depth of 
ten feet. The sym- 
bolism connected with these forts is somewhat remarkable. 
Here we have the fire at one end of the fort and the water sup 
ply at the other; the hearths or pavements connected with one 
and circles connected with the other. The horse-shoe symbol 
is contained in the shape of the bluff itself and in the stone en 
closure on -he summit of the bluff. 

IV. We now come to another class of strongholds, namely 
the "Stone Forts." These forts resemble the "Hill Forts" and 
may, by some, be regarded as identical. We classify the 
stone forts separately. Our reasons for so doing are as fol 
lows: (i) They seem to be more advanced in their style* and 



CARLISLE . F.DRTL 
AS. IT._A0PEARED.IN,I835.BYSHB 




210 

mode of construction. Wherever they are located they are 
always characterized by the same feature. They are generally 
situated on eminences, where there are rocky precipices. (2.) In 
several cases the precipices are veneered with artificial walls 
which make a barrier against the wash of streams and furnish 
a foundation to the walls above. (2.) The gateways of the stone 
forts are frequently quite elaborate. The wall is generally 
four or five feet high and varies from twenty to thirty feet wide 
at the base. It is sometimes laid up in regular order, making a 
smooth even front with sharp angles, but generally is merely in 
the form of an irregular pile of stone, and resembles an earth 
wall, except that the material is different. The question has 
arisen whether the wall was surmounted by a stockade; on this 
point there is uncertainty. The stone walls generally conform 
to the nature of the ground. Stones were employed because 
they could be readily procured, although the hammer had noth 
ing to do with the preparation of the materials, yet there is 
evidence of great labor and the place of location is selected 
with a military eye.* 

The stone forts may properly be considered as belonging to 
the village Mound-builders, and perhaps were designed as es 
pecial retreats for the villagers. It will be noticed, at least, that 
in Ohio this kind of fort is frequently situated in the midst of 
square enclosures, so giving evidence that they were built by 
the same people.f In the Miami Valley there is a square en 
closure on the terrace, and the fort is on the hill near by. So 
with the fort at Bourneville. This is situated in the midst of the 
valley of Paint Creek, and was surrounded by enclosures, which 
we have imagined to be villages of the sun-worshipers. The 
same is true of the fort on Massie s Creek, near the Big Miami 
River. The stone fort near Manchester. Tennessee, and that of 
Duck Creek, of the same state, may be regarded as specimens; 
yet these were located near the walled villages of the Stone- 
grave people and may have been built by that people. The 
same may be said of the stone fort ot Southern Indiana. This 
last fort was located on the Ohio, somewhat remote from the 
region of the "sacred enclosure," so called, but there are on 
the White River many earth-works which resemble those on 
the Scioto, and so we place this stone fort among the works of 
the sun-worshipers. 

The subject of symbolism comes in here. It is to be noticed 
that two of the forts Bourneville and Massie s Creek, in South 
ern Ohio have walls in the shape of crescents, with mounds 
between the walls. Our conjecture is that these were designed 
as symbols. This last fort is beautifully situated on a hill-top, but 
is attended with a large square enclosure situated in the valley. 
The fort has a series of gateways guarded by conical mounds, 

*Haywood s Tennessee. 

tSee map of Miami Valley; also of Paint Creek and the Scioto. 



211 

and an outer wall, divided into four sections, in the shape of 
crescents. See Fig. 9. The enclosure [is nearly square, and 
is attended with several earth embankments, which are also in 
the shape of crescents. The impression gained is that here 
was a settlement of sun-worshipers. 

The difference in the symbolism of the forts is to be noticed 
in this connection. The Hill Forts, if they contain any symbol 
ism, contain that of serpent-worship; but the Stone Forts illus 
trate the symbolism of the sun-worshipers. The Hill Forts 
were generally located in a wild or rough hill country a coun 
try which was probably occupied by hunters. The Stone Forts 




No. 9 Stone Fort on Maswe s Creek. 

were generally located in regions favorable for agriculture and 
are surrounded by evidences of a numerous population; a pop 
ulation which was given to agriculture. With these conjectures 
we proceed to a description of the specific forts. 

i. One of the best specimens of the stone forts is at Bourne- 
ville. See Plate VI. The description of this is given by Squier 
and Davis. It occupies the summit of a lofty, detached hill 
twelve miles west of Chillicothe. The hill is not far from forty 
feet in height. It is remarkable for the abruptness of its sides. 
It projects midway into the broad valley of Paint Creek, and is 
a conspicuous object from every point of view. The defenses 
consist of a wall of stone, which is carried around the hill a 



212 

little below the brow, cutting off the spurs, but extending across 
the neck that connects the hill with the range beyond. The 
wall is a rude one, giving little evidence that the stones were 
placed upon one another so as to present vertical faces, though 
at a few points the arrangement lends to the belief that the wall 
may have been regularly faced on the exterior. Upon the west 
ern side, or steepest face of the hill, the stones are placed so as to 
resemble a protection wall. They were probably so placed to 
prevent the creek from washing away the hill and undermining 
the fort. Upon the eastern face, where the declivity is least 
abrupt, the wall is heavv and resembles a stone heap of fifteen 
or twenty teet base and four feet high. Where it crosses the 
isthmus it is heaviest. The isthmus is seven hundred feet wide. 
Here the wall has three gateways. 

The gateways are formed by curving inward the ends of the 
wall for forty or fifty feet, leaving narrow passages not exceed 
ing eight feet in width. At other points where there are jutting 
ridges are similar gateways, though at one point a gateway 
seems to have been for some reason closed up. At the gateways 
the amount of stone is more than quadruple the quantity at 
other pointe, constituting broad, mound-shaped heaps. 

These stone mounds exhibit the marks of intense heat, which 
has vitrified the surfaces of the stones and fused them together. 
Strong traces of fire are visible at other places on the wall, par 
ticularly at F, the point commanding the broadest extent of 
country. Here are two or three small stone mounds that seem 
burned throughout. Nothing is more certain than that power 
ful fires have been maintained for considerable periods at num 
erous points on the hill. There are several depressions or 
reservoirs, one of which covers about two acres and furnishes 
a supply of water estimated as adequate to the wants of a thou 
sand head of cattle. The area enclosed within this fort is some 
thing over one hundred and forty ac r es, and the line of wall 
measures upwards of two and a quarter miles. Most of the 
wall and a large portion of the area was covered with a heavy 
primitive forest. Trees of the largest size grew on the line, 
twisting the roots among the stones, The stones were of all 
sizes, and were abundant enough to have formed walls eight 
feet thick. In the magnitude of the area enclosed, this work 
exceeds any hill-work now known in the country, although less 
in length than that of Fort Ancient. It evinces great labor and 
bears the impress of a numerous people. The valley in which 
it is situated was a favorite one with the race of Mound-builders, 
and the hill overlooks a number of extensive groups of ancient 
works. 

2. The stone fortifications in Clark County, Ind. This is a 
very interesting fort, situated at the mouth of Fourteen-mile 
Creek, on the Ohio River, at the point of an elevated, narrow 
ridge, which faces the river on one side and the creek on the 



213 

other. This fort presents many new and strange features 
The ridge is pear-shaped, with a narrow point to the north, the 
broad part toward the river. It is two hundred and eighty feet 
above the level of the Ohio, though at the south end there is a 
terrace which is sixty feet above the river. Along the greater 
part of the river front there is an abrupt escarpment of rock, 
too steep to be scaled, and a similar barrier on the side facing 
the creek. This natural wall is supplemented on the north side 
by an artificial stone wall made by piling up loose stone without 
mortar. It is about one hundred and fifty feet long. It is built 
along the slope of the hill and had an elevation of about seventy- 
five feet above its base, the upper ten feet being vertical. The 
inside of the wall is protected by a ditch. The ridge on the 
south and southwest sides, or the broad end of the pear, is also 
protected by an artificial wall, built in the same way, but not 
more than ten feet high. The elevation ot the side wall above 
the creek bottom is eighty feet. This artificial wall is supple 
mented by a string of mounds which abut against the wall on 
the inside, but which rise to the height of the wall throughout 
its entire length. Within the fort there is a ditch twenty feet 
wide and four feet deep, which separates the mounds from the 
enclosure, or rather from the ridge, on the summit of which the 
fort was supposed to be. The top of the enclosed ridge em 
braced ten or twelve acres. There are as many as five mounds 
that can be recognized on the flat surface. One near the nar 
rowest part (the stem of the pear) was so situated as to command 
an extensive view up and down the Ohio River, as well as an 
unobstructed view across the river and a creek, both east and 
west. It is designated as Lookout mound. 

The locality afforded many natural advantages for a fort or 
stronghold. Much skill was displayed in rendering its defense 
as perfect as possible at all points. One feature about the fort 
is unique. The wall is made up both of stone and earth, the 
stone forming a shield to the earth wall, part way up on the 
inside, and completely to the summit on the outside, the two 
together forming an elevated platform which overlooked the 
steep bank below, and offered an excellent opportunity for de 
fense. The wall, and accompanying mound or earth-work, is 
situated below the summit of the ridge on an escarpment of 
rock, with a ditch on the inside, so that there was a double de 
fense, the wall itself serving as an outwork, and the sides of 
the ridge inside forming a second barrier fordefense. Prof. Cox 
says of this fort: "In the natural advantages of the location and 
in the execution of the bold plans conceived by the engineers 
of a primitive people, this fortification surpasses any which has 
yet been found in the State. The walls around the enclosure, 
which fill up the protected spaces, are generally ten feet high, 
but at a naturally weak point on the northwest part the gap 
was closed by a wall that from the outer case to the top was 



214 

seventy-five leet high. From the summit of the ridge, which is 
two hundred and fifty feet above the river, one can look over the 
beautiful scenery for a stretch of eight or ten miles up or down 
the Ohio River."" 

(3.) Prof. Cox speaks of a second fort or enclosure, on the 
spur ot a ridge skirting Big Creek, in Jefferson County. "The 
ridge is protected on the north and south by a natural cliff, 
sixty-five to eighty feet high. Across the narrow neck of the 
spur of the ridge were two artificial stone walls, one seventy- 
five feet long and twelve feet wide, and tht other four hundred 
and twenty-five feet long, leaving an enclosure between the 
walls of twelve acres. "The site of this ancient dwelling-place, 
like all others visited, affords an extended view lor many miles 
over the country, north, east and south." Three stone mounds 
formerly could be seen, near this fort, upon level ground. One 
of them is called the egg mound, on account of its shape. "Stone 
was hauled from these mounds for building foundations, fire 
places and chimneys for all the houses for miles around." "From 
the great fortified town at the mouth of Fourteen-mile Creek 
to the fortification at Big Creek, a distance of about thirty miles, 
there appeared to be a line of antiquities, that mark the dwell 
ing-places of intermediate colonies; and these, when pushed to 
extremes by an invading foe, may have sought protection in the 
strongholds at either end of the line."* 

V. A fifth mode of defense is the one to which we now call 
attention. It consists in the system of "walled towns" or villages. 

We call them, for the sake of convenience, "walled towns". 
This is a significant term. It reminds us of the "walled towns" 
of the ancient and mediaeval times, and suggests the idea that 
these may have been the outgrowth of such villages as pre 
vailed in prehistoric times. We are to notice their peculiarities. 
Their peculiarities were : (i.) The villages were surrounded 
by walls, but were permanent residences. (2.) The villages were 
surrounded by ditches, sometimes upon the outside of the wall 
and sometimes on the inside. (3.) The majority of these walled 
villages had some high pyramid or domiciliary mound, which 
answered in a rude way to the temples. (4.) There was always 
a lookout mound in connection with the walled village, which 
served the same purpose as a tower. (5.) In many of the walled 
villages the domiciliary mound was located in the midst of the 
lodge circles, the arrangement of the lodges being around a 
square, the chief s house being in the square. (5.) Burial mounds 
are frequently found in these villages. These contain the great 
est store of relics, giving the idea that care for the property as 
well as for the remains of the dead, was one element of village 
life. Let us consider the different classes: 

Among the hunter tribes the walled village embodied it- 



See Geological Report for 187-1, p. 36. 



215 

self in the stockade, a single enclosure constituting the defense. 
Among the sun-worshipers the walled villages contained three 
enclosures, though the object of these enclosures is now un 
known. Some have accounted for these enclosures by imagin 
ing that the square was designed for the residence of the chiefs, 
corresponding to the public square of the southern Indians. The 
larger circle was the residence of the people, and included the 
corn-fields and kitchen gardens, while the small circle was the 
residence of the priest or medicine man. Among the stone grave 
people the walled village consisted of a wall, without bastions, 




Stale 



Teei. 



Fig. 10. A Mandan Fort. 

surrounding the village in the form of a semi-circle. Within this 
wall is found a series of earth-works pyramids, cones, burial 
mounds, etc. These are very common in Tennessee. They 
may be called the mountain villages, or their builders may 
be called the mountain mound-builders. We give this name to 
them, not because they are on the mountains but because they 
are in a mountainous region, the Appalachian range being 
the only mountains in the Mississippi valley, or in other words, 
the only mountains in the Mound-builders territory, 

Another class of walled villages is the one found in Arkan 
sas, among the cypress swamps. It consists of a square enclos 
ure with an earth wall on all sides, the enclosure being filled 



216 

with lodge circles arranged in rows around an open square. In 
these villages there are large domiciliary mounds in the shape 
of pyramids, and many comical mounds. There is a resem 
blance between these villages and those of Tennessee; the 
shape of the enclosure is the main point of difference. A spec 
imen of the fourth class of walled villages is found at Savannah, 
Tennessee. This is a square shaped enclosure. A peculiarity 
of it is the wall is built with bastions or redoubts resembling 
those of modern forts. 

We will illustrate the subject by specimens of walled villages, 
(i.) The first is one common among the Indians, such as the 
Mandans. This consisted in a mere group of lodges arranged 
around a square. Some of the Mandan villages seem to have 
had walls with bastions. See Fig. 10. This reminds us of the 




Scale 



Fig. 11. Walled Town on the Big Harpelh. 

ancient village called Aztalan, in Wisconsin, which also had 
bastions and outworks. (2.) The villages found in the State of 
Tennessee. Mr. Jones says, "On the southwestern side of the 
Big Harpeth River, about two and a half miles from Frank 
lin, Tennessee, is an earth-work which encloses about thirty- 
two acres of land. See Fig. n. It is in the form of a 
crescent, which is 3,800 feet in length, situated on a perpendic 
ular bluff forty feet above the waters edge. It was admirably 
chosen for defense. Within the earth-works are nine mounds, 
the largest, marked A, resembles a parallelogram two hundred 
and thirty feet in length, ten feet in breadth and sixteen feet in 
height. The remaining mounds vary from one hundred to 
twenty-five feet in diameter and one to four feet in height." 
The large oblong mound contained an altar with ashes and 
charcoal resting on it; this is near the original surface of the 
earth, and the mound seemed to have been erected upon the 
altar. Four mounds, marked B, C, D and F, also contained evi- 



217 

dence of hot fires in a red burnt stratum resembling ^rick in 
hardness.* The fort represented in the cut Fig. nf is also situ 
ated on the Big Harpeth, about six miles from Franklin. This 
fort contains twelve acres. It has a crescent-shaped wall sur 
rounding it, 2470 feet in length. There are two pyramids at 
one side of the enclosure. One of them (A) is sixty-five by 
one hundred and twelve feet at the base and eleven feet high; 
the other (B) is sixty by seventy feet at the base and nine feet 
high. This enclosure contains a large number of stone graves, 
arranged in rows at either side of the village. The probability 
is that the lodge sites of the villagers were contained within 
this fort and that the pyramids marked the sites of the houses 
of the chiefs, the burial place being also inside of the enclosure. 

A village fort in the form of a circular enclosure has been 
described by Mr. Gates P. Thruston, as situated on the West 
Harpeth, about three miles from Oldtown. It is one thousand 
nine hundred and seventy feet in circumference, and contains 
about seven acres. The main pyramidal mound is one hundred 
and ten feet in diameter at the base and thirty-five feet at the 
summit. Its height is but nine feet. Dr. Jones says that "for 
tifications several miles in extent, inclosing two systems of 
mounds and numerous stone graves, lie along the Big Harpeth 
River, about sixteen miles below Oldtown." Within these abor 
iginal works, enclosing the sites of two ancient cities (villages), 
are found three pyramidal mounds about fifty feet in elevation, 
each one containing about one acre on its summit. 

On the east side of the Tennessee River is the ancient work 
which has been described under the head of "The Civilization 
of the Mound-builders." This is more properly a bastioned fort 
rather than a walled village, and yet it contains many signs of 
permanent habitation. The main line measures, north and south, 
1350 yards. There are the remains of redoubts at intervals of 
eighty yards. There are some sixteen mounds in this enclosure, 
the largest of which is thirty feet high and has a level platform 
at the top. It commands a central position and overlooks the 
entire works. The other mounds of the group range from 
twelve feet in height down to small elevations. The central 
mound was excavated by Mr. J. Parish Stelle, but proved to be 
a domiciliary mound, with no regains except a crescent-shaped 
hearth near the surface. A furnace mound found in the excav 
ation was, however, more curious, as it was full of the traces of 
fire and many burned and charred logs. 

A similar class of walled villages is the one which is found in 
the midst of the cypress swamps of Southern Missouri and 
Northern Arkansas. These swamps are very extensive, ranging 

*The cut illustrative of this fort may be found in the paper on "Migrations," Fig. 7. 
fThe cut (Fig. 11) on the preceding page is illustrative of the fort described on this 
page. The reader will notice the similarity between the two. 



218 

from ten to twenty miles in width and twenty to forty in length. 
They all sustain a heavy growth of cypress, and so are called 
"cypries." Between these swamps are sandy ridges, thirty to forty 
miles in length and three to ten in width, leaving an elevation 
above the swamps of fifteen or twenty feet. Between these ridges 
are others whrch are quite narrow and low, scarcely three feet 
above the high water mark, with arroyos or low bottoms cross 
ing them at intervals. It is supposed that during the time of 
the Mound-builders the present swamps were open water-courses, 
as all of their principal works were found on the ridges never 
in the arroyos. The region is in great contrast with that in 
which the mountain villages were located, and yet the villages 
were very similar. 

We now take a few specimens of swamp settlements as they 
have been described. 

(1) The settlement called by Prof. W. B. Potter, the "Sandy 
Woods Settlement". That part of the ridge on which the village 
is located is somewhat isolated, and is nearly half a mile long 
by an eighth of a mile wide. The wall is at present two hun 
dred and twelve feet high and seven feet wide; the ditch outside 
is one and one-half to three feet deep, by seven feet wide. A 
group of nine mounds and a large number of circular depres 
sions, forming three sides of a parallelogram, characterize the 
settlement. The principal mound is rectangular, is sixteen feet 
high, and has abase of one hundred and twenty by two hundred 
and fifty feet; summit, one hundred and fifty-four by one hun 
dred and ten feet. Next in size is the flat top conical mound, 
marked B. This is one hundred feet in diameter and is twenty 
feet high. Another mound, marked C, is one hundred feet in 
diameter and four feet high. The two mounds marked H, are 
the most interesting, as they are burial mounds. These con 
tained a large number of skeletons and one thousand specimens 
of pottery. The skulls and large bones were well preserved. 
The lodge circles within these settlements are very numerous ; 
many of them contained hearths. See Fig. 12. The open space 
in the center of the village was occupied by the burial mounds and 
the domicliary mounds. _ 

(2) The second village which we shall describe is near New 
Madrid. Here the ridge rises about twenty-two feet above the 
water. A wall around the settlement is on the edge of the ridge, 
but the most prominent mound is on the edge of the blufT. It 
is eleven feet high, seventy by one hundred feet in diameter 
The burial mound, seven and one half feet high, contained skele 
tons in layers. The layers were drawn in near the center as the 
mound arose. At the top they were found lying six layers deep. 
In another mound a hearth was exposed twelve feet square. 

(3) Another village near "Mound Church" is called "Mound 
Group". It stands on the edge of the bluff, fifteen feet above the 



219 

water. There are two walls about four feet high. The oval 
space has the great mound near its center. This mound is, like 
the space, oval in shape; has a diameter of two hundred and 
seventy feet by one hundred and forty to two hundred and 
eleven feet, height twenty-one feet. 

(4) The settlement seventeen miles north of New Madrid is 
the best preserved of them all. The open space is elliptical. 
The large mound in the center is also elliptical; has a base of 
two hundred and thirty feet long and from one hundred and fif 
teen to one hundred and thirty feet wide. The mound opposite 
is eleven feet high and one hundred feet in diameter. These two 
mounds correspond to one another in position, and probably 
mark the site of the ruling classes, the one having been occu 
pied by the chief and his family and the other by the priest or 
medicine man, or by the assembly, so resembling the rotundas 
and public squares, common among southern Mound-builders. 

The picture presented is that of the village community as 
it existed in prehistoric times, in America, and it forms a fitting 
close to the article upon the Mound-builders defenses. We have 
seen that there were five different methods of defense: First, 
the Signal Station; second, the Stockade Fort; third, the Hill 
Fort; fourth, the Stone Fort; fifth, the Village Fort. The village 
fort is, however, the most interesting of all. 

The peculiarities which we recognize as common to these walled 
villages are as follows : 

(i.) The villages all contain a large number of hut rings, also 
burial mounds and lookout mounds, and generally one or two 
large pyramidal mounds. These features are found in the Ten 
nessee villages, though the hut rings are not so plain as in the 
Arkansas villages. The difference between them is that the 
Tennessee mounds contain stone graves, while the mounds in 
Arkansas contain large quantities ol pottery, but no stone cists. 

(2.) The open space, in which there are no lodge circles, is 
always found in the center of the village. This space is some 
times elliptical and sometimes square. This answers to the 
public square of the Cherokees, and conveys the idea that the 
walled villages of the southern tribes were all alike. 

(3.). The arrangement of the villages. The settlement is gen 
erally on the edge of the swamp, and covers an area. from two 
hundred to four hundred feet in width and from six hundred to 
eight hundred feet in length, filled with lodge circles or hut rings, 
burial mounds and domiciliary mounds. The lodges are gener 
ally in rows, each hut ring being of the same size. The average 
depth of the depressions is about two feet, the diameter thirty 
feet ; the centers are from fifty to sixty-five feet apart. In the 
hut rings hearths of burnt clay are found at a depth of about 
fifteen inches, having a diameter of two to three ieet. 

(4.) There was always a pyramidal mound in the public square. 



220 

This was probably the chief s residence. This mound is higher 
than all others, and overlooks the entire settlement, the top be 
ing frequently sixteen feet to twenty feet above the level. The 
size varies; in one case it is 120x250 feet, with a summit of 
154x110 feet; in another case 210x270 feet at the base and no 
xi65 at the summit. There are sometimes two mounds, one 
rectangular in shape and the other oval. In a few cases the 
rectangular mound is surrounded by a series of conical mounds. 
The burial mounds are within the confines of these settlements. 
These vary in height from four feet to seven and a half, and from 
forty to one hundred and twenty feet in diameter. They contain 
many specimens of pottery, a large number of human bodies. 
The bodies are sometimes in layers the lower about one foot 
below the surface of the ground and the other within a foot of 
the summit of the mound, with six inches of dry earth between 
them. Near the heads, pottery flasks and bottles are tound, and 
near the middle of the skeleton bowls and flat dishes. The num 
ber of bodies varies ; sometimes as high as one hundred or two 
hundred are found in a single mound. From eight hundred to 
a thousend specimens have also been found in a single mound. 

(5) The relics of the Mound-builders handiwork found in 
these settlements are articles for household use or ornament and 
agricultural tools, with a noticeable absence of the implements 
of war or the chase. Pottery occurs in the greatest abundance, 
and always in the burial mounds. Beautiful specimens of spades 
and hoes, of white and yellow chert, well polished, showing the 
effects of use, are obtained from the open fields. Several en 
graved shells, one of them bearing the figure of a spider, the 
others of human figures, have been found. 

(6) The ditch accompanying the villages is generally on the 
outside. It was probably used for conveying water around the 
settlement, as well as for defense. This feature reminds us of 
the fish preserves, and wide ditches which surround the groups 
of pyramids in the Gulf States. The villages were, however, 
defended by walls which were thrown up inside of the ditches. 
In this respect they differ from those of the Gulf States. The 
walled villages were evidently erected by an agricultural people 
those in Ohio by sun-worshipers, and those in Tennessee and 
Arkansas by pottery makers. The Pyramid-builders do not 
seem to have built such walled villages, but depended upon 
pyramids for defense. 




SKELETON IN ALTAR, POKTER MOUND. 



MM 




SKELETON WITH SPOOL ORNAMENTS. 




DEPOSIT OK FLINT RELICS. 



RECENT FINDS IN OHIO BY W. K. MOOREHEAD. 

The altar with skeleton was found in Brown roun y, Ohio. The altar measures 
,seven feet by nine. A copper mask eight inches long and five wide covered thn f rehead 
of the skeleton. The leaf-shaped implements were found in Hopewell Mound. This 
mound contained deposits of copper aggregating 235 piece*, carved into squares and 
semi-circles, suastikas and images of birds and nshes; a copper celt whi<-h weighed 38 
pounds, also anklets, bracelets combs and pendants, many finely carved bones, covered 
with traceries, which show a high degree of manual skill. The skeleton with the spool 
ornaments was from the Porter mound, not far from the Hopewell farm. 



221 



CHAPTER XII. 

RELIGIOUS WORKS OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

NORTHERN DISTRICT. 

We have undertaken in this chapter to give a map of the re 
ligion of the Mound-builders. To some it may seem to be a 
Utopian scheme, only based upon speculation, but we maintain 
that the effort is not only useful in giving us more definite con 
ceptions of the different phases of that religion, but in reality is 
correct in its classification. The following particulars will show 
this : i . The religious systems in the map correspond to the ethnic 
divisions of the Mound-builders territory which we have already 
made. These divisions indicate that there were different races 
occupying different districts, and the present view not only con 
firms this, but indicates that the races had systems of religion 
which were distinct and different from one another. 

2. The classification of the religious system corresponds with 
that of the works and relics, and so proves that the religious cult 
had much to do in giving them their special characteristics. 

3. The map shows that there was a progress in ihe icligious 
cult which corresponded to the other lines of progress made by 
the Mound-builders. The different stages of progress may be 
recognized in each district as we pass over their territory. 
The northern districts were evidently occupied by totemistic 
hunter tribes; their works consist mainly of burial mounds, animal 
effigies and the remains of stockades of forts and villages. The 
middle districts by a class of agriculturists, who were evidently 
sun worshipers; their works consist of three classes pyramids, 
sacred enclosures and large mounds which contain chambered 
tombs. The southern districts by sedentary tribes, who were 
pyramid-builders and sun worshipers, and who were idolaters. 

4. The different phases of nature worship given by this map 
have been recognized among historic races. We maintain that 
they really originated among prehistoric races. Some of these 
are rude and primitive, but they wonderfully illustrate the sys 
tems that prevailed in ancient times, and help us to understand 
the origin and growth of the different historic faiths. They seem 
to be mere superstitions and unregulated fancies of rude savages; 
but in them we find the beginnings of that extensive system 
which grew into so many elaborate faiths and forms. We are thus 
brought to the threshold of a great mystery and into the midst of 
a deep problem, the whole field of comparative religions having 



suddenly opened before our vision, and the relation of man s 
religion to his environment rising like a mountain in the back 
ground. 

5. There was evidently a supra-naturalism among the native 
races, which was dim and shadowy, but as, among the Mound- 
builders, it embodied itself in the relics and in the earth-works 
it becomes an object of studv, and so we may define each phase 
by referring to these material forms. We do not claim that any 
one system was exclusive of all others, for the systems are often 
mingled together; yet there was such a predominance of one 
over the other that we may take the map as a fair picture of the 
different systems. The complications are, to be sure, numerous 
and the tokens varied, but the geographical divisions separate 
them sufficiently and we may actually decide what the character 
istic of each cuU was. 

6. The religious sentiment was strong among the native races of 
America. It seems to have manifested itself in different ways in 
different localities, showing that it was everywhere subject to 
the influence of climate, soil, scenery, and physical surround 
ings. It largely partook of the character of nature worship, but 
obeyed the law of natural development. If we take a map of 
the continent and "draw lines across it, somewhat correspond 
ing to the lines of latitude, we will find that this map not only 
represents the different climates and occupations, but the re 
ligions of the aborigines. What is more, these different religions 
will embrace nearly all of those systems which have been 
ascribed to nature worship : Shamanism prevailing among the 
ice fields of the north ; animism having its chief abode in the 
forest belt; totemism, its chief sway among the hunter tribes 
that inhabited the country near the chain of the great lakes; 
serpent worship in the middle district; sun worship among the 
southern tribes, and an advanced stage of the nature worship 
among the civilized races of the southwest. 

The divisions in the map correspond with the divisions of 
various Indian tribes or races, which are known to have inhab 
ited the country at the time of the opening of history, thus 
showing that there were ethnic causes that produced the differ 
ent systems of religion among them. There is a wonderful 
correspondence between the systems wh : ch prevailed in the 
modern Indian and the mound-building period, showing that the 
native races were affected by their surroundings. 

7. In reference to the geography of the religion of the Mound- 
builders, we conclude that the key is found in the physical envi 
ronment. If among them there was a system illustrating the 
stages through which religion passes on its way to the higher 
historic faiths, this corresponded to the social status, grades of 
progress and geographical districts among the Mound-builders, 
and is to be studied in the material relics and tokens which are 



223 

to be found in the different districts. The picture which is pre 
sented by the larger map is concentrated into a smaller compass, 
the different forms of nature worship having embodied themselves 
m the works and relics of this mysterious people. Here then 
we have a schedule by which we may classify the different sys 
tems as they appear before us. Recognizing the various aborig- 
nal religions in the different districts, we find in them the various 
phases of nature worship, and so can follow that worship through 
its different stages. 

The order of succession in the line of growth, would be about 
as follows : We find a trace of animism predominating among 
the wild tribes, which consisted in giving a soul to everything, 
but this prevailing among the Mound-builders led them to erect 
many chambered mounds and to take great care in depositing 
relics in them. 

The same animal worship that led the native tribes to the recog- 




Fig. 1 Mound on the Iowa River, 

nition of the animals as their divinities led the Mound-builders 
to erect animal effigies on the soil. The system of sun worship 
which led the agriculturist to regard the sun as his great divinity 
would lead the Mound-builders to embody the sun symbols in 
their works. The system which led the civilized races to erect 
vast pyramids of stones and consecrate shrines to the sun divin 
ity on the summit, induced the Mound-builders to erect their 
earth-works in the shape of the pyramids and place images upon 
the summits. These different phases of nature worship only 
illustrate the law of parallel development, a law which prevailed 
in prehistoric tribes as well as in historic. We are, however, to 
remember that there are no hard and fast lines by which these 
systems were separated, for they were blended together every 
where, the only difference being that one system was more prom 
inent than the other. We take the different districts and learn 
from the works and relics that these embodied the religions of 
the Mound-builders, but at the same time see the shading of one 
into the other, and avoid making the divisions arbitrary. 

I. Let us take the system of animism. This, in the larger field 
and among the living races, was the religion of the savages and 
belonged to the lowest stages of human development. Ani- 



224 

mism prevailed among the Mound-builders. Among them it 
was also the lowest form of religion. Remains of it are, to be 
sure, occasionally seen among the higher stages, but it was, 
nevertheless, a superstition of the savages. The essence of ani 
mism consisted in ascribing a soul to everything, and making 
the soul of material things about as important as the human 
soul. The savage, when he buried the body of the dead, depos 
ited the various belongings with the body, for he thought that 
the spirit would use the weapons and relics in the land of the 
shades. With the Mound-builders the same superstition pre 
vailed, but with them it was often the custom to break the relics 
in order to let out the soul. It was to the same superstition 
that chambers and vaults, resembling the houses and tents of 
the chiefs, were left in the center of the mounds and that the 
bodies were placed inside these vaults. The thought was that 
the spirit remained ; every individual having a double lodge, one 
occupied before death, the other to remain inhabited after death. 
We give a series of cuts which illustrate the points referred 







Fig. 9. Mound near East Dubuque. 

to. It will be noticed that in each of these the mound contains 
a chamber, and in the chamber are skeletons, and with the 
skeletons are relics which were used in the life-time; the idea 
being that the soul needed the same after death. The first 
figure (see Fig. i) illusirates a mound situated on the Iowa 
River, a region where hunter laces are known to have lived; 
in this mound is a stone vault having the shape of an arch, and in 
the vault a single skeleton, sillmg, with a pottery vessel by its 
side. The next (see Figs. 2 and 4) represent a mound situated 
on a high bluff on the Mississippi River in East Dubuque. In 
this mound was a cell divided into three apartments; in the 
central apartment were eight skeletons sitting in a circle, while 
in the center of the circle was a drir.king vessel made of a sea 
shell; the other cells are said to have contained chocolate-colored 
dust, which had a very offensive odor. The whole chambe r 
was covered with a layer of poles or logs, above which were 
several layers of cement, made partly ot lime. Another figure 
(see Fig. 3) represents a burial mound containing a chamber, in 
the botiom of which were several skeletons, a lop coming of 
sand, a layer of clay, a layer of hard clay mixed with ashes, 
and a layer of mortar over the bones. This mound was in 



225 

Crawford County, Wisconsin, in the region of the effigv mounds. 
Another figure (see Fig, 5) represents a chambered mound in 
Missouri. The vault in this mound was rectangular, and was 
built and was laid up with stones very much like a modern build 
ing, but has a passage-way at the side whirh reminds us of the 
European cists or dolmens. It is a remarkable specimen ot the 
handiwork of the Mound-builders. Whether these different 
chambers or vaults can be regarded as representing the houses 
of the Mound-builders is a question; but the fact that they are 
in the burial mounds, and so many of them contain relics and 
remains, would indicate that such was the case. 

We have said that burial mounds of hunter tribes were gener 
ally stratified. We find, however, stratified mounds containing 
pottery vessels near the heads, as though there was an association 
of the spirit with the vessel. We find also groups of lodge 
circles on the sites of villages, but within the circles are bodies 
and relics, giving the idea that they were buried within the lodge. 
It was the custom of certain tribes to bury the body on the very 
spot where life had departed. The tent and its furniture and 




Fig. 3. Mound in Crawford County, Wisconsin. 

equipments were either burned or removed, but the body re 
mained where it was. May we not ascribe these lodge circles 
to the same superstition? It was the custom, also, of other 
tribes to bury the body in the very attitude which it assumed in 
" articulo mortis" . May not this explain the peculiar attitude of 
some of the bodies found in the tops of the mounds, where the 
face rests upon the hands, the body on the sides with the knees 
drawn to the chin ? It was the custom of the Dakota tribes to 
remove the sod and expose the soil for the sacred rites of cer 
tain feasts, as the Master of Life was supposed to dwell in the 
soil. The sacred pipes and other emblems were placed near 
the fresh earth, as if to be offered to the spirit which dwelt there. 
May not this same superstition, that the soul or spirit of life was 
in the soil, account for the burial customs which were embodied 
in the mound? The same punctilious care over the details of 
burial was observed in prehistoric times that is now seen in the 
sacred ceremonies of the modern historic tribes. We cannot 
dwell upon this subject, but, doubtless, if we understood the cus 
toms of the Mound-builders better, we should find that there 
was not a single item which did not have its special significance. 
Great variety is, to be sure, manifested in the burial mounds. 



226 




Some contain relics, the very relics which had been used during 
the life ot the deceased; the bodies of children being covered 
with bone beads, the very beads that had been worn as neck 
laces and wristlets; the bodies of warriors being attended by the 
arrows, axes, spear heads, badges, gorgets and ornaments which 

they had carried through life; the 
bodies of chiefs being attended 
with pipes, spool ornaments, 
pearl beads and many other 
precious relics, which were their 
personal belongings. Vases filled 
with sweetmeats were sometimes 
buried near the children ; pottery 
vessels and domestic utensils near 
the heads of females, and brood 
ing ornaments or bird-shaped 
Fig. ^.-skeletons at East Dubuque. relics, used as the signs of mater 
nity. Even tender fabrics, such as the cloth woven from hemp, 
feather robes and coverings, made from the hair of the rabbit, 
delicate needles made from bone and from copper, spool orna 
ments made from wood and covered with copper and sometimes 
with silver ; in fact, all the articles that made up the toilet of 
women or furnished equipments for men, or were playthings of 
children, were deposited at times in the mounds, not as offerings 
to the sun divinity, nor the serpent or fire, but as gifts or pos 
sessions to which the spirit of the dead had a right. 

II. We now come to the second form of nature worship. This 
prevailed chiefly among the Mound-builders, though we some 
times recognize it among living tribes. It is the system of animal 
worship the normal cult ot the hunter 
tribes. According to this system, the 
animals were frequently regarded as 
divinities. They were the ancestors of 
the clans, as well as their protectors, and 
gave their names to the clans. This 
system prevailed among the northern and 
eastern tribes, such as the Iroquois, the 
Algonquins. Chippeways or (Jbjibways, 
and, to a certain extent, the Dakotas, 
though among the latter it was gieutly 
modified. It prevailed especially through 
the northern districts and along the chain 
of great lakes. Its peculiarity was that the people were not 
permitted to eat the flesh of the animal whose emblem they bore, 
nor were they permitted even to marry into the clan of the same 
animal name; a most remarkable system when we consider its 
effect upon the details of society and its influence in the tribal 
organization. The same system prevailed on the northwest 







Fig. 5. Chambered Mound. 



227 

coast, but it was here modified by the presence of human images 
carved into genealogical trees, with the thunder-bird generally 
surmounting the column. 

This system prevailed among the Mound-builders, especially 
in the northern districts. It was embodied in the effigies which 
are so numerous in the State of Wisconsin, but was also exercised 
by those people who have left so many animal figures made in 
effigy from standing stones which are lound in Dakota. Descrip 
tions of these effigies have been given by the author in the book 
on " Emblematic Mounds." Other specimens have been discov 
ered since the volume was published. We maintain that there 
were three specific uses made of these effigies the same uses 
which may be recognized in the totem posts of the northwest 
coast. They are as follows : 

I. The perpetuity of the clan name. In the totem posts the 
clan name was mingled with the family history, but generally 
surmounting the column, the genealogical record of the family 




Fig. 6. Totems in Wisconsin. 

being contained in the elaborate carvings found below. They 
might be called ancestor posts, for the name or image of each 
ancestor was given, a great effort being made to extend the 
genealogical line as far as possible. This same use of animal 
figures as tribal or clan signs, designed to represent the clan 
names, may be recognized in some of the old deeds which were 
given by the Iroquois to the whites.* Here the bear, the turkey 
and the wolf are drawn on paper to signify the clan emblem of 
the chief. The same custom has been recognized in the emblem 
atic mounds, with this difference: instead of being written on 
paper or carved in wood, in this case the totems were moulded into 
earth -works; massive effigies of eagles, swallows,wolves,squirresl, 
bears, panthers, turtles, coons, buffaloes and other animals, and 
having been placed upon the soil to mark the habitat of the clans. 
They served the purpose, because they were on the hill-tops as 
well as in the valleys, and marked not only the sites of villages, 
but the game drives, the sacrificial places, the dance grounds and 
council houses of the clans. See Fig. 6. 

2. The protective power of the totems is to be noticed. On 
the northwest coast the houses are sometimes furnished with 



*See Documentary History of New York, Vol. II. 



228 

figures of whales, serpents and other animals. In some cases 
the entrance to the house is through the body of a fish; other 
houses have the image of the thunder bird, with spread wings, 
placed over the doorway; the entrance of the house being un 
der the body and between the wings. The same custom was 
common among the Mandans and other tribes of the prairies ; 
they painted upon the outsides of their tents the figures of a 
deer or elk, making the opening to the tent through the body of 
the animal. We have noticed also among the effigy mounds 
that figures of the squirrels, panthers and wolves were placed at 
the entrance-way to the villages, so placed as to give the idea 
that they were designed to protect the villages. In all such 
cases they were the clan emblems. We have also noticed that 
the clan emblems were placed near the game drives, as if the 
protection of the clan divinity was invoked by the hunter. 
Sometimes the clan emblem would be placed at a distance on a 
hilltop above the village, giving the idea that there was an over 
shadowing presence. A favorite custom was to seize upon some 
cliff, or ridge, or knob of land which had a resemblance to the 
clan emblem and there place the effigy, as if there were a double 
protection in this: animism and totemism conspiring to 
strengthen the fancy. See Figs. 7 and 10. 

3. The mythologic character of the totems is to be noticed. 
On the northwest coast the great myth bearers are the totem 
posts. We learn from Mr. James Deans* that the myths of the 
people were carved into the vacant spaces upon the posts, and 

that it \vas the ambition of the people to per 
petuate as many myths as possible. 

The hideous masks which are so common in 
the same region were also designed to be myth 
bearers. These masks served the same purpose 
as buffalo-heads and elk-horns did among the 
Dakotas. They helped to carry out the sem 
blances of the animals which were assumed by 

Fig.J-Turtle Totem. dancers at the great feasts> the buffd l o dance and 

the elk dance being characterized by imitations of the attitudes of 
the animals. The effigies were also myth bearers. Groups of 
effigies are found which contain all the animals that were native 
to the region, closely associated with human figures (fee Fig. 8), 
the effigies in their attitudes and relative positions giving the idea 
that there was a myth contained in them. 

4. The totems also served a part in the pictographs. One fact 
illustrates this: The Osages have a secret order in which traditions 
are preserved by symbols tatooed upon the throat and chest.f 
One of these traditionary pictographs is as follows : At the top 

American Antiquarian. Article by Jnrnes Dean", Vol. XIII., No. IV. 
t^lxih Annual Keport of Bureau of Ethnology, page 378, "Osage Traditions," by 
Rev. J. O. Dorsey. 





Fig. 8.Myth Bearer of the Dakota*. 



we see a tree near a river, called the tree of life; just under the 
river we see a large star, at the left the morning star, and next 
are six stars, then the evening star; beneath these are seven 
stars, or the pleides; below these the moon on the left, the sun 
on the right, between them a peace pipe and a hatchet ; below 
these are the four upper worlds, represented by four parallel lines, 

a bird is seen hovering over 
the four worlds. The object 
of the tradition or chart was 
to show how the people as 
cended from the lower worlds 
and obtained human souls 
whenthey had long been in the 
body of birds and animals. 
The Osages say : " We do 
not believe that our ancestors 
were really animals or birds; 
these things are only symbols 
of something higher." Mr. 
Dorsey also says: "The lowas 
have social divisions and per 
sonal names of mythical persons and sacred songs, but these are 
in the Winnebago language." He says: "Aside from traditions 
even the taboos and the names of the gentes and the phratries 
are objects of mysterious reverence, and such names are never 
used in ordinary conversation." We take it for granted that the 
totems of the Mound-builders were also as thoroughly subjects 
of reverence and that there was much secrecy in reference to them. 
There were probably secret societies 
and * mysteries" among the Mound- 
builders, and it would require initia 
tion on our part to understand the 
symbols which have perpetuated the 
myths and traditions as much as if 
they were hieroglyphics and we were 
without the key. The subject of to- 
temism is very complicated, but was 
prevalent in prehistoric times as one 
of the wide-spread systems of religion. 
5. Another phase of totemism was that 
which connected itself with various 
objects of nature trees, rocks, caves, 
rivers. It was thought that invisible spirits haunted every dark 
and shadowy place. The caves were their chief abode; the cliffs 
were also filled with an invisible presence. Every rock or tree 
of an unusual shape was the abode of a spirit, especially if there 
was any resemblance in the shape to any human or animal form. 
It was owing to this superstition, that gave a soul to every thing, 




Fig. 9 Myth Bearer from a Cave 
in Wisconsin. 



230 

that so many double images are found in the Mound-builders 
territority. The image of the serpent, of the lizard, of the turtle, 
was recognized in the bluffer rock or island or stream; and the 
mound resembling the same creature was placed above the bluff 
to show that the resemblance had been recognized. Totemism, 
then, was not confined to the savages who roamed through the 
dark forest of the North, nor to those Northern tribes which 
made their abode upon the prairies, and left traces of themselves 
in the idols and images and foot tracks and inscriptions, which 
are now such objects of wonder, but it extended far to the 
southward, and was mingled with the more advanced systems 
which prevailed in this region. 




Fi<). 10. Alligator Mound in Ohio. 

This was totemism. We conclude that it bore an important 
part in the Mound-builder s life. It was very subtle and obscure, 
yet if we recognize it among the living tribes we may also 
recognize it among those who have passed away. 

6. Under the head of totemistic symbols we shall place those re 
markable works, the great serpent and alligator mounds. These 
closely correspond to the shape of the cliff or hill on which 
they are placed. They must be regarded as sacred or religious 
works, as they probably had a mythologic significance. The 
alligator mound is situated upon a high and beautifully rounded 
spot of land, which projects boldly into the beautiful valley of 
the Raccoon Creek. The hill is 150 or 200 feet high. It is so 
regular as almost to induce the belief that it has been artificially 
rounded. It commands a view of the valley for eight or ten 
miles, and is by far the most conspicuous point within that limit. 
Immediately opposite, and less than a half mile distant, is a 



231 

large and beautiful circular work; to the right, three-fourths of 
a mile distant, is a fortified hill, and upon the opposite side of 
the valley is another intrenched hill. The great circles at New 
ark, which we have designated as village inclosures, are but a 
few miles away and would be distinctly visible were there no in 
tervening forest. Squier and Davis say: "The effigy is called 
the alligator, though it closely resembles the lizard. The total 
length is about 250 feet, breadth of body 40 feet, length of legs 
36 feet. The paws are broader than the legs, as if the spread 
of the toes had been imitated. The head, shoulders and rump 
are elevated into knobs and so made prominent. Near the effigy 
is a circular mound covered with stones, which have been much 
burned. This has been denominated an altar. Leading to it 
from the top of the effigy is a graded way ten feet broad. It 
seems more than possible that this singular effigy had its origin 
in the superstition of its makers. It was perhaps the high place 
where sacrifices were made on extraordinary occasions, and 
where the ancient people gathered to celebrate the rites of their 
unknown worship. The valley which it overlooks abounds in 
traces of a remote people and seems to have been one of the 
centers of ancient population."* See Fig. 10. 

In reference to the altars so called, we may say: "One is to 
be distinctly observed in the inclosure connected with the great 
serpent and another in connection with the cross near Tarlton, 
and still another in connection with the bird effigy at Newark." 
This bird (ffigy is also worthy of notice; it was in the centre of 
the great circle, and seems to have been erected for religious 
purposes, like the great circles of England, and in the squares 
of Peru and Mexico, enclosures within which were erected the 
shrines of the gods of the ancient worship and altars of ancient 
religion. These may have been spots consecrated by tradition, 
or rendered remarkable as the scene of some extraordinary 
event, invested with reverence and regarded with superstition; 
tabooed to the multitude, but full of significance to the priest 
hood. They may have embraced consecrated graves, and guarded 
as they were by animal totems, have been places where myster 
ious rites were practiced in honor of the great totemistic divinity. 

III. The third form of nature worship we shall mention, is the 
one which consisted in the use of fire. It might be called fire 
worship, although it has more of the nature of a superstition 
than of worship. This custom, of using fire as an aid to devo 
tion, was not peculiar to the Mound-builders, for it was common 
in all parts of the world; the suttee burning of India being the 
most noted. In Europe cremation or burial in fire was a cus 
tom peculiar to the bronze age, and indicated an advanced stage 
of progress; the relics which are found in the fire-beds being 

*Ancient 




232 

chiefly of bronze and many of them highly wrought. In this 
country the fire cult was, perhaps, peculiar to the copper age; at 
least, the larger portion of the relics which are found in the fire 
beds are copper. As to the extent of this cult, we may say it was 
prevalent among the native tribes both of the Mississippi Valley 
and of the far West, and, in some cases, appeared upon the 
northwest coast. There are instances where cremation or burning 
of human bodies was practiced which, in many ot its features 
resembled the suttee burning. The custom of keeping a perpetual 
fire was one phase of this fire cult. This seems to have been 
general among the tribes of the Mississippi Valley, so well as 
among the civilized races of the southwest. It was a supersti 
tion of the Aztecs, that if the fire went out in the temple, the 
nation ceased to exist. The ceremony of creating new fire was 
the most sacred and important event among them. Charlevoix 
says that fire among the Muscogees was kept burning in honor 
of the sun. It was fed with billets or sticks of wood so arranged 
as to radiate from a common center, like the spokes of a wheel.* 
Temples were erected for this purpose, and in them the bones of 
the dead chieftans were also kept. Tonti says of the Taensas: 
"The temple was, like the cabin of the chief, about forty ieet 
square; the wall fourteen feet high; the roof doom shaped ; 
within it an altar, and the fire was kept up by the old priests 
night and day. The temples were quite common throughout 
the region known as Florida, extending from Arkansas to the 
southern point of the Peninsula. They were found in many of 
the villages, and great care was exercised that the fire within 
them should be perpetual. The temples finally disappear, and, 
in their stead, we find the hot house or rotunda or council 
houses, such as are known to the Cherokees. The time came 
when a temple was no longer spoken of, though the rotunda 
embodied something of its sacredness. It was within this rotunda 
that the first fire was kindled; and it was here, under the care of 
the priests, that the perpetual fire was kept burning. A very 
interesting rite was observed annually, when all fires of the tribes 
were put out and kindled anew by the fire generator. This took 
place on the occasion of the feast of the first fruits on the third 
day. On that day, as the sun declined, universal silence reigned 
among the people. The chief priests then took a dry piece of 
wood, and, with the fire generator, whirled it rapidly. The wood 
soon began to smoke; the fire was collected in an earthen dish 
and taken to the altar. Its appearance brought joy to the hearts 
of the people. The women arranged themselves around the 
public square, where the altar was, each receiving a portion of 
the new and pure flame. They then prepared, in the best man 
ner, the new corn and fruits, and made a feast in the square, in 



Charlevoix rotten*, page 



233 

which the people were assembled and with which the men re 
galed themselves."* 

As to the prevalence of the fire cult among the Mound-build 
ers, it was not confined to the southern districts, where the 
rotundas were and where sun worship was so prominent. At 
least one stage of this fire cult, that which consisted in cremation 
of the bodies, appeared in the regions north of the Ohio River 
and was quite common. 

We shall see the extent of this custom if \ve draw a line diag 
onally from the region about Davenport, Iowa, through Illinois, 
Indiana, Southern Ohio, West Virginia and North Carolina. We 
shall find that the line strikes the majority of the fire beds and 
altar mounds. What is remarkable, also, along this line are found 
those relics which have been associated with the fire cult of Ohio, 
many of them having been placed upon the altars and offered 
either to the sun divinity or to the fire. Among these relics we 
may mention as chief the so-called Mound-builder pipe. This 
was a pipe with a curved base and a carved bowl, the bowl being 
an imitation of some animal native to the region. The pipes are 
very numerous in the vicinity ot Davenport, Iowa. The animals 
imitated are very nearly the same as those represented in the 
Ohio pipes the lizard, the turtle, the toad, the howling wolf, the 
squirrel, ground-hog and bird. One pipe has the shape of the 
serpent wound about the bowl, an exact counterpart of the ser 
pent pipe which was found upon the altar in Clarke s Works in 
Southern Ohio, Similar pipes, carved in imitation of animals 
badgers, toads and birds have also been found upon the Illinois 
River, in Cass County, and upon the White River, in Indiana, 
showing that the people who occupied the stations were acquainted 
with the same animals and accustomed to use the same kind of 
pipe. The Davenport pipes are not so skillfully wrought as the 
Ohio pipes, but have the same general pattern. 

They were not all of them found in the fire beds, for many of 
them were discovered in mounds where the fire had gone out. 
These mounds are situated alon^ the banks of the Mississippi 
River, from the vicinity of Muscatine through Toolsboro, 
Moline, Rock Island and Davenport, the most remarkable spec 
imens having been found on the Cook farm, just south of 
the latter city. There were fire beds and altars in this group, 
but even here, as in the case of other mounds where there was 
no fire, the pipes were placed near the bones, which were still 
well preserved, and none of them showed traces of fire. 

Let us here notice the difference between the tokens in the 
two sections. I. In Ohio nearly all Mound-builder pipes, in 
cluding the finely wrought serpent pipes and the other animal 
pipes, had been placed upon the altar and subjected to the 

Journal of American Folk-T.ore, Vol. IV, No. XIV. Social Organization of Th* 
Sivean, by J. O. Dor&e^ , page 215 bee map in Chapter U. 



234 

action of fire and so badly burned that they were broken into 
fragments. In western mounds they were unbroken. 2. Another 
difference is noticeable. While there were as many copper relics 
in the Davenport mounds, as in the Ohio mounds, they were 
mainly copper axes, many of which were wrapped in cloth and 
placed with the bodies. Fig. n. Farquharson calls them cere 
monial axes. There were no signs of use in them. They varied 
in size and shape, some of them being flat, others flat on one side, 
convex on other; still others convex on both sides. The cloth 
in which they were wrapped was well preserved by action of the 
copper; it was made of hemp and resembled burlap. In the 
Ohio mounds no such copper axes have been found. Copper 
beads and copper chisels are numerous, however, and beads and 
pendants are as common as in Davenport. 3^The characteristic 




Fig. 11. Coppei- Axes and Pottery Vessels from Toolsboro. 

relic of the altar mounds of Ohio is the copper spool ornament. 
In the Davenport mound there were very few spool orna 
ments, but awls and needles were quite numerous; copper beads 
and pendants were common. Many of these were found in 
various localities, both on the Scioto River and in the Turner 
group. 4. Another point of difference between the two localities 
is the shape of the altars. Those in the Davenport mounds are 
never paved as in the Ohio mounds, the altars in the Davenport 
mounds being merely round heaps of stones or columns. Near 
these the bodies were placed, but the relics were beside the 
bodies and not upon the altars. In one case a few long shin- 
bones were crossed upon the top of the altar and others found 
leaning against the side of the stones, but no relics. The bodies 
do not seem to be cremated, but buried in the fire. The relics, 
including pipes, copper axes, copper awls, and obsidian arrows, 
were placed at the side or head of the body, but were rarely 
burned. 

5. Another point of difference is that burials and cremations 



235 

in Ohio were made before the mound was erected, while in the 
Davenport mounds, if there was any cremating, it took place at 
the time of burial, and the fire was smothered in the process of 
mound building. Prof. Putnam explored a burial mound on the 
Scioto River, which was situated in the great circle near the east 
ern corner of the great square. It was 160 feet long, 90 feet 
wide and 10 feet high. It contained a dozen burial chambers 
made from logs. In these chambers the bodies were placed evi 
dently wrapped in garments. With the bodies were buried va 
rious objects, such as copper-plates, ear-rings, shell beads and 
flint knives, and on the breast of one skeleton was a thin copper 
plate or ornament. In some of the chambers there were evi 
dences of fire as if the bodies had been burned on the spot. 
Prof. Putnam s opinion is that the burials and cremations were 
made before the mound was erected, several burnings having 
occurred in one spot. The mound was erected over all, and was 
finished with a covering of gravel and with a border of loose 




Fig. 12 Mound near Davenport. 

stones. This was the usual manner of erecting mounds among 
the fire worshipers. Squier and Davis in 1840 dug into the same 
mound and found a skeleton, with a copper plate and a pipe. 
They also found in other mounds altars in which bodies had 
been burned, but the ashes had been removed, a deposit of the 
ashes being found at one side of the altar. 6. The intense heat to 
which the relics were subjected in the Ohio mounds as com 
pared to the partial burning in the Iowa mounds is to be no 
ticed. Prof. Putnam says that in the Turner group the fire was 
intense, and the iron masses were exposed to great heat on the 
altar and were more or less oxydized. Squier and Davis say 
that the copper relics found in the Ohio altars were often fused 
together, and the pipes of the Mound-builders were all ot them 
broken. 

The question here arises, who were these fire-worshippers? 
Were they the Cherokees, who survive in the mountains of Ten 
nessee ? or were they the Dakotas, who so lately roam the prairies 
in the far West? or were they some unknown people ? Our 
answer to this question is, that no particular tribe can be said to 
represent the fire worshipers, for this cult prevailed among nearly 
all the different classes of Mound-builders. Mounds containing 
fire beds have been found in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, 
Ohio, West Virginia, East Tennessee, North Carolina, and the 



236 

Gulf States. In Wisconsin the fire beds are without relics; in 
Iowa they contain relics, but they are unburned; in Ohio they 
contain many relics which seem to have been thrown upon the 
altars as offerings; in East Tennessee there are mounds which 
contain fire beds that resemble those of Ohio; in West Tennessee 
the mounds contain traces of fire, but no altars or fire beds. The 
relics are unburned. These latter mounds are said to have been 
built in the shape of cones, the cists containing the bodies being 
arranged in a circle about a central space, but each tier being 
drawn in so as to make a cone. The fire was in the center of 
the circle; outside the circle, near the heads, were pottery ves 
sels, which made a circle of themselves, the whole arrangement 
indicating that there was not only a fire cult here, but that it was 
associated with sun worship, the superstition about the soul being 
embodied in the pottery vessels, the three forms of nature wor 
ship being embodied together in one mound. 

We call attention to the cuts which represent the fire cult of 
the different districts. Fig 12 represents a mound on the Cook 
farm near Davenport, one of the group from which so many 
relics were taken. This mound contained no chamber, but in its 
place were two strata of limestone, but over these a series of 
a skulls so arranged as to form a crescent, 

around each skull was a circle of stones. 
See Fig. 13. With the skeletons in the 
mound were two copper axes, two hemi 
spheres of copper and one of silver, and 
several arrows. In an adjoining mound 
were two skeletons surrounded by a cir- 
jj.-cve.cen* nd circle. de of red stones; the skeletons were under 

a layer of ashes and with them were several copper axes, cop 
per beads, two carved stone pipes, one in the shape of a ground 
hog. The difference in the mounds will be noticed. In the 
latter mounds there were indications of fire worship and sun 
worship. Fig. 1 1 represents the vase and copper axes taken 
from the mound at Toolsboro. They exhibit an advanced stage 
of art and seem to indicate that the Iowa Mound builders did 
not fall much behind the Ohio Mound-builders in this respect. 

The Moquis practice a modified form of fire worship. No other 
living tribe preserves the cult to the same degree, and yet there 
is no evidence that the Moquis were ever Mound-builders. Two 
theories might be entertained ; one, that there was a progress in 
the fire worship ; another, that there was a decline, and yet there 
is no surviving tribe in which we recognize the fire cult of the 
ancient times. 

We can say that while the tokens of the fire worshipers, such 
as fire beds, copper relics and Mound-builders pipes, are found 
scattered as far as the effigies on the north and the pyramids 
at the south, these three classes of tokens, one indicating ani- 




237 

mal worship, the other fire worship, and the third sun wor 
ship, are crowded into the single State of Illinois, and consti 
tute the tokens of the middle Mississippi district. We notice 
also that the relics indicate three different modes of life or occu 
pations. Among the effigy mounds are many copper relics, but 
mainly spear-heads, arrow-heads, chisels, knives, such as would 
be used by hunters. The relics in the fire beds and burial 
grounds near Davenport are axes, awls and needles ; no copper 
spear-heads or knives. The relics south of these fire-beds, 
especially those near the Cahokia mound, are mainly agricultural 
tools spades, hoes, picks. The pottery of the three localities 
are in contrast, showing that three different stages of art and 
different domestic tastes in the three localities. The Mound- 
builder pipes are not found either among the effigies or pyra 
mids, and seem to be confined to this narrow belt between the 
two. 

Still the fire cult must have been early in the Mound- 
builder period. We notice both in the Mississippi Valley and 
upon the Ohio River that the fire beds and altars are at the bot 
tom of the mounds. In very many of the mounds there are 
layers of bodies, some of which were recumbent, others in 
various postures, but either without relics or having relics of a 
ruder or more modern character. These may have been depos 
ited by various Indian tribes, such as the Sacs and Foxes, Potta- 
wattamies and Illinois. Mound-builder pipes, copper axes and 
other relics are always found as low down as the surface of the 
soil. They are not always in fire beds, but frequently there will 
be a hard floor and a saucer-like basin below the bodies, and 
above them piles of wood or logs, conveying the idea that the 
intention was to cremate the body, but the fire had gone out be 
fore the wood had been burned. The descriptions given by all 
the explorers of the mounds of this vicinity are always to this 
effect.* 

IV. The prevalence of the moon cult will next be considered. 
The moon cult was evidently associated with sun-worship, and 
prevailed in the district where the works of the sun-worshippers 
are so numerous, namely: Southern Ohio. The evidences of 
this are as follows: i. In this district we find earth-works, which 
seem to be symbolical of the moon; their shape, location and 
probable use show this. They are crescent shape, but are some 
times grouped around circles, and were probably used in con 
nection with dances and feasts, which were sacred to the moon. 
We take for illustration the works whicn are called the Junc 
tion Group, which is described by Squier and Davis. This group 
is situated on Paint Creek,, two and one half miles southwest of 

*See descriptions by Rev. G. A. Gass, C. E. Harrison, W. H. Pratt, C. H. Preeston. 
Rev. A. Bloomer, A. F. Tiffany, R. J. Farqueson; also proceedings of Davenport 
Academy of Science. Vol. I., page 96 to 143; Vol. II., pages 141 and 269; Vol. III. 
MB ; Vol. V., itogte 8f7; alto American Antiquarian. 



238 

the town of Chillicothe. It consists of four circles, three cres 
cents, two square works and four mounds. The eastern enclos 
ure is the principal one, and, in common with all the rest, con 
sists of a wall three feet high with an interior ditch. It is two 
hundred and forty feet square; the angles much curved, giving 
it very nearly the form of a circle. The area bounded by the 
ditch is an accurate square of one hundred and sixty feet side, 
and is entered from the south by a gateway twenty-five feet wide. 
To the southwest of this work, and one hundred and fifty feet 
distant, is a small mound, inclosed by a ditch and wall, with a 
gateway opening to it from the north. The ditch dips from the 
base of the mound, which is three feet high by thirty feet base. 




Fig. Ik. Junction Group, 

Almost touching the circle enclosing the mound is the horn of 
a crescent work, having a chord of one hundred and thirty-two 
feet. Sixty-six feet distant, in the same direction, is still another 
crescent, which terminates in a mound of sacrifice, seven feet 
high by forty-five feet base, which commands the entire group of 
works. This mound was opened and found to contain an altar; 
such an altar as is peculiar to mounds devoted to religious pur 
poses. Upon it were a number of relics clearly pertaining to the 
Mound-builders. In reference to these works Squier and Davis 
say: "That they were not designed for defense is obvious; and 
that they were devoted to religious rites is more than probable. 
Similar groups are frequent. Indeed, small circles resembling 
these here represented, are by far the most numerous class found 
in the Scioto Valley." 

Next is the Blackwater group. This is situated on the right 
bank of the Scioto, eight miles above Chillicothe. It is especi- 



239 



ally remarkable for its singular parallels (A and B of the plan). 
Each of these is 750 feet long by 60 broad. A gateway opens 
from the southern parallel to the east. They were in cleared 
ground and have been cultivated for twenty years. The ground 
embraced in the semi-circular works (C and B) is reduced several 
feet below the plain on which they are located. The resem 
blance between this group and the one just described will be 
noticed. I. The group is arranged in an irregular circle. 2. 
There are three cres 
cents in the group, each 
of them opening into 
the central space. 3. 
There is a small circle 
with a ditch and mound 
enclosed, the usual sun 
symbol of this region. 
4. A conical burial 
mound is found near 
one of the crescents. 5. 
The location of the 
group is quite similar 
to that of the Junction 
group, being in a high 
place above the river, 
this one being some two 
or three miles from 
Hopeton, the Junction 
group being two miles 
southwest of Chillico- 
the. Both of them oc 
cupy the third terrace 
and overlook the other 
works in the vicinity. 

Another place where 
the crescent- shaped 
wall is found is in the 
township of Seal, Pike County. The large work and the small 
circles would attract especial attention. The larger enclosures, 
situated on the terrace above the bottom land, consist of the 
usual figures, the square and circle, the square measuring 800 
feet and the circle 1, 050 feet, the connection by parallel walls, 475 
feet. In the small works we have the square, the circle, the 
ellipse, separate and in combination, and the crescent, all of 
them arranged as usual around an open space. From the small 
circle (D) a wall leads off along the brow of the terrace. It is 
probable that at the other end oi this wall there was another 
small circle which has been destroyed by the wasting of the 
bank. The river now runs at a distance, but it seems to have 




Fig. 15.Blackwater Group. 



240 



worn the terrace away in several places before it receded. This 
shows the antiquity of the works. Nothing can surpass the 
symmetry of the small work (A). The other enclosures are 
perfect figures of their kind. The walls of the square coincide 
with the cardinal points of the compass, a fact which has great 
importance in connection with this form oi nature worship. 




Fig. 16. Symbolic Works in Seal Toumship, Ohio. 

The object of these works is unknown, but our theory is that 
the small figures mark a place of assembly for the clan which 
resided in the square enclosure, a peculiar symbolism being em 
bodied in them. It may be that there was a secret order which 
perpetuated the religion of the people and which ruled over their 
feasts, the group of mounds being the place where their mys 
teries were celebrated. 



241 

There are various crescent-shaped walls, near certain forts in 
Southern Ohio, which we take to be symbolic, and imagine that 
there was a protective power in the symbol. An illustration of 
this is found at Massie s Creek, seven miles from Xenia. There 
we find a wall of stone surrounding an inclosure. This wall, 
near the gateway, is ten feet high, with thirty feet base. Just 
outside the gateways are the stone mounds, so situated as to 
guard the entrances ; outside the stone mounds are four short, 
crescent-shaped stone walls, each about three feet in height, the 
four making an outwork to the fort, on the side toward the 
highlands. Our conjecture is that these were in the shape of 
crescents, as the walls at Fort Ancient were in the shape of ser 
pents, the superstition being that the symbol itself was a source 
of safety. There are several other forts which have crescent- 
shaped entrances, one being at Bourneville, a region where the 
sun worshipers dwelt and had numerous villages. 

Another evidence is to be found in the many crescent-shaped 
walls, near square enclosures, whose use is unknown except as 
symbols of the moon. There are three such walls near a square 
enclosure, just opposite the stone fort on Massie s Creek, evi 
dently connected with that fort.* 

There are crescent-shaped walls also within the enclosures at 
Marietta, as well as at the new fort at Fort Ancient; also at 
Liberty Township. The crescent-shaped wall, near the bird effigy 
in the large circle at Newark, is to be noticed. These fragment 
ary walls may have had a practical use as well as symbolic, but 
the fact that they are so frequently associated with the square 
and circle, and so peculiarly related to those figures, would in 
dicate that they were symbols of the moon. It would seem 
from the study of the enclosures that these walls mark the place 
of religious assemblies or the residences of the priests or medi 
cine men, and that they correspond to the sweat-house or ro 
tunda of the southern tribes and to the estufas of the Pueblos 
though the crescents themselves may have been only the seats 
of the chiefs and prominent men as they gathered around the 
sacred fire, which sent up its spiral column in the centre of the 
temple, which was consecrated to the sun. 

The work near Bainbridge, Ross County, situated on the Val 
ley of Paint Creek, affords another of the thousand various com 
binations. It can only be explained in connection with the 
superstition of the builders. It could answer no good purpose 
for protection, or subserve any useful purpose, such as the 
limits of fields, or boundaries of villages. 

There is another point to be considered in connection with the 
earth-works in Southern Ohio. Many of them have exactly the 
same shape with the relics and badges which are taken from the 



*See Ancient Monuments, page 94. Plate XXXIV. 



242 

mounds, the two together showing that the moon cult must 
have been dominant. Among these we may mention those 
crescent-shaped altars, in which the silvery mica is supposed to 
have reflected the light of the moon, such as was found at 
Mound City, and the crescent-shaped pavement, near the great 
mound at Circleville, both of which were evidently symbolic. 
We recognize the counterparts to these in the various maces and 
badges and leaf-shaped relics. These maces are frequently 
crescent-shaped, some of them double crescents. They may 
have been placed at the heads of staffs and borne by medicine 
men or priests at the head of processions at their sacred feasts, 
but they show in their shape that there was a symbolism among 
the Mound-builders in which the moon-shaped crescent was a 
prominent figure. IVe sometimes recognize in the maces the 
sun circle, but the crescent was more common. What is most 
singular about the earthworks and relics is, that the same shapes 
are recognized both in the altars themselves and the relics con 
tained within them. 




Fig. 17. Altar of Leaf-shaped Implements. 

We may say in this connection that an altar was found upon 
the Illinois river, in Cass County, which consisted of several layers 
of leaf-shaped implements, which were almost the exact counter 
part of one found in Mound City, near Chillicothe, Ohio. The 
body on this altar was not burned. There was upon the breast 
a copper plate in the form of a crescent, shell gorgets, and other 
relics. Dr Snyder says the mound gave evidence of a water 
cult; but the resemblance to the Ohio mounds would show that 
it was connected with the fire cult. In reference to the shape of 
these flint relics and their religious significance, we may say that 
the exploring party led by Mr. Warren K, Moorehead has re 
cently came upon a remarkable find, which consisted of 7,300 
flint relics, placed in an oval bed, at the bottom of an elliptical 
mound. The shape of the altar and mound corresponded, though 
the axis of the stone heap trended west, while the mound itself 
was directly north and south. This fire bed is said to have been 
twenty feet wide by thirty feet long, and the flint relies which 
constituted the pavement varied from twelve to fifteen inches in 
length and five to eight inches in width, making the pavement 
something over a foot in depth. This find was upon the north 
fork of Paint Creek, in the group of mounds from which Squier 



243 

and Davis, many years ago, took so many valuable and curious 
relics, showing that the offerings which were placed upon the 
altar were in reality devoted to the moon as well as to the sun, 
the mound, the altar and the relics being combined in symboliz 
ing the different phases of the moon. Our conclusion is that 
the moon cult was as prominent as the fire cult, and that both 
of these were associated in the minds of the sun-worshipers. 
They gave significance to the altars, the relics and the earth 
works of this region. Proofs of all this are given in the fact 
that offerings were placed upon altars which were very carefully 
constructed, the shapes of the altars perhaps being symbolic. 
The fire was lighted until the offerings were consumed. 

Squier and Davis speak of this when they describe the mounds 
in Mound City: Mound No. I showed traces of fire near the 
summit, which increased until the altar was reached. The relics 
found within the altar varied. In one they consisted of fragments 
of pottery, ornamented very tastefully, convex [copper discs and 
a layer of silvery mica, in sheets overlapping each other, and 
above the layer a quantity of human bones. 

Mound No. 2 contained an altar in the shape of a parallelo 
gram of the utmost regularity. It measured at the base 8xio 
feet, and at the top 4x6 feet, and was 18 inches high; dip of the 
basin Q inches. Within the basin was a deposit of fine ashes, 
fragments of pottery and a few pearl and shell beads. This 
mound also contained an intruded burial, for at three feet below 
the surface two skeletons were found. With these skeletons 
were found implements of stone, horn and bone, as follows: 
Several hand-axes and gouges; beautiful chip of horn-stone, the 
size of one s hand; several knife handles made of deer s horn; 
an implement made from the shoulder-blade of a buffalo, and a 
notched instrument of bone, designed for distributing paint in 
lines on the faces of the warriors. 

Mound No. 3 is egg-shaped; measured 140x60 feet, u feet 
high; contained four strata. At the base of this mound there 
was a double altar. The entire length of the bottom altar was 
not far from 60 feet; that of the upper was 15 feet. The dip of 
the first basin was 18 inches. Relics were found within the 
smaller basin. It was found that the one altar had been built and 
used for a time, and then another one built within this basin, the 
process having been repeated three times, the ridge forming 
the last altar having a basin 8 feet square, while the first altar 
was five times that size, or 40 feet in diameter. The relics found 
in this mound were numerous and valuable. They were as fol 
lows: A large number of spear-heads, quartz and garnet; an 
obsidian arrow-point, and other arrow-heads of limpid quartz. 
These had been so broken by the heat, that out of a bushel or 
two of fragments, only four specimens were recovered entirely. 
Among the copper relics were the following: Two copper 



244 

chisels, one measuring 6, the other 8 inches in length; twenty 
copper tubes or beads, one and a quarter inches long, three- 
eighths in diameter ; two carved pipes were discovered, one in 
the shave of a toucan cut in white lime-stone ; a large quantity 
of pottery, out of which two vases were restored. 

Mound No. 7 was 17^ feet in height, 90 feet base. It was 
composed of six different strata of soil and sand, and contained 
at its base a floor of clay or altar, at one side of which was a layer 
of silvery mica formed of round sheets, 10 inches or a foot in 
diameter, overlapping each other like the scales of a fish, which 
made a pavement in the shape of a crescent around the altar 
twenty feet long and five feet wide. The mound was very com 
pact, required an immense amount of labor to excavate it. Squier 
and Davis say that the presence of the mica crescent renders it 
probable that the Mound-builders worshiped the moon and that 
this mound was erected with unknown rites to that luminary. 

The personal ornaments which have been found indicate the 
same thing. Squier and Davis speak of discovering certain 
scrolls and discs made from sheets of silvery mica, which were 
perfect in their outline. These were perforated with a single 
hole, and were probably attached in some way to the dress. 
When placed together they make an ornament which reminds us 
of the celebrated "winged globe" or feathered disc, which was 
so common in Egypt and the East. The shell gorgets, which 
are so numerous at the south, represent the same symbols. These 
contain crescent-shaped figures in the center, surrounded by cir 
cles, with dots between the circles: the whole contained within 
four concentric rings; the number four symbolizing the four 
quarters of the sky, the dots symbolizing the stars, the small 
circles the sun and the crescent in the center the moon. These 
gorgets are never found in Ohio, but they show that the moon 
cult was associated with the solar cult among the Mound-build 
ers of the south. 




UNIVERSITY 

V^UFORNiA; 



245 



CHAPTER XIII. 



THE WATER CULT AND THE SOLAR CULT. 

In our last chapter we spoke of the different systems of relig 
ion prevalent among the Mound builders, with especial regard 
to their location and geographical distribution. We noticed that 
there were different systems embodied in the works of the differ 
ent districts. The works of the effipy-builders, who were 
probably hunters, indicated totemism; those of the tomb-builders 
of the prairies, who were nomads, denoted animism ; those of 
the altar-builders of the middle district, who were agriculturists, 
exhibited fire worship ; the sacred enclosures or villages of the 
Ohio district denoted the moon cult. We did not, however, 
complete the study of the districts, nor did we exhaust all the 
systems prevalent. It remains for us to finish this task. 

There still remain to be considered several other systems the 
water cult, the solar cult, and the beginnings of image worship. 
These found their embodiment in the works and relics of the 
three districts those on the Ohio River, the mountain district 
and the gulf district the tokens of each cult being found in all 
three districts and the systems having apparently overlapped one 
another throughout the entire region. We are to devote the 
present chapter to two of these systems, the water cult and the 
solar cult. 

These systems were associated with the fire cult and serpent 
worship, and in some places seem to have been attended with the 
phallic symbol and the human tree figure, these symbols having 
been distributed over the middle and southern districts. They 
prove the religious systems of the Southern Mound-builders were 
much more elaborate and highly developed than those of the 
Northern Mound-builders, suggesting that the Southern Mound- 
builders belonged to a different race or received their religion 
from a different source. These systems are certainly more arti 
ficial, more highly organized, and show more highly developed 
thought. They may have sprung from nature worship, the same 
as the northern systems, and been owing to the growth of relig 
ious sentiment in the more permanent and advanced condition of 
society which prevailed at the south. Still, there are so many 
strange symbols in these districts, resembling those in oriental 
countries, that we are tempted to ascribe them to contact with 
civilized races, and to say that they are identically the same as 



246 

those prevailing in Europe, Asia and the tar East, and must have 
been transmitted to this country. We do not undertake to follow 
up the channel through which they flowed, nor to decide as to 
the country trom which they came, but we can not help the 
conviction that they bear the impress of systems which are known 
in historic countries and which appear in the early ages in those 
countries. 

We imagine that there was once in the far East a system ot 
nature worship which was as rude as anything found in America; 
that at that time the elements of fire, water, lightning, the sun 
and moon, and all the nature powers, were worshiped, or. at least, 
divine attributes ascribed to them. We are sure that serpent 
worship and tree worship prevailed, and appeared in the East, 
though we do not know exactly at what time they appeared. 
Phallic worship and image worship also came in at a certain stage 
in the progress of thought. The last served to corrupt and degrade 
the other systems, and very soon perverted them, so that they 
became sources of degradation to the people. The Scriptures 
condemn these, and history confirms the justice of the sen 
tence. The tradition of the serpent in the Scriptures may be an 
allegory or a statement of fact, but there is no doubt that the 
serpent worship was a source of degradation and a sentence was 
placed upon it by enlightened conscience. The personification of 
the nature powers did not elevate the people, for when the per 
sonification grew more elaborate the moral practices grew more 
degraded. When the Eleusinian mysteries were introduced into 
Egypt and Greece, everything became significant of the processes 
of nature. Names were given to the nature powers, and myths 
were invented to explain the origin of the names ; but the myths 
and mysteries did not save the people from, degradation. 

While the doctrine of immortality and the future state was 
understood and the anticipation was symbolized by nature wor 
ship, yet cruelties were practiced and degraded rites attended the 
worship of the elements. The phallic worship and fire worship 
were devoted to human sacrifices, and sun worship itself was 
attended with the immolation of human victims. 

All of these systems are found in America, and their symbols 
are scattered far and wide. We do not know whether they are to be 
connected with the decline of religion in oriental countries, or 
with the progress of religion in America, for they are closely 
connected with the nature worship, from which all moral distinc 
tions were absent. Still, the symbols which, in Eastern lands, 
are suggestive of degraded practices are the very symbols prev 
alent here. They are symbols which, in the East, belonged to 
the secret mysteries, the very mysteries which were so full of 
cruelties and degradations. 

We maintain that the religion of the Mound-builders not only 
embodied the same elements as those which became so strong 



247 

in the oriental religions when at a certain stage, but it shows 
how these elements interacted. The fire became the symbol of 
the sun and consumed the offerings made to the sun, and became 
sacred as his servant. The serpent was frequently regarded 
as a divinity in some way amenable to the sun, and so serpent 
pipes and serpent effigies were connected with the sun circle in 
the symbolism of the Mound-builders. It is possible that there 
was a certain kind of tree worship;* the same element of life hav 
ing its chief embodiment in the tree, which was able to stand up 
in its force. The moon cult also prevailed, for the moon is al 
ways an attendant upon the sun. Whether there was a distinc 
tion of sex between the sun and moon is unknown; but the sun 
circle and Jthe moon crescent may have been male and female. 

These three types of nature worship, in which the fire, the 
serpent and the sun were the chief divinities, probably prevailed 
throughout the. Mound-builders territory, though their symbols 
varied with different localities. We recognize the water cult, 
the solar cult, and the image worship, as different phases of 
nature worship; but we find that in the symbols there was a re 
markable resemblance to the symbolism of other countries, and 
whether able or not to trace one to the other, we are struck with 
the thought that there was a studied and intentional symbolism, 
which resembled that of the Druids, in all their earthworks. The 
altars, the temple platforms, the burial mounds, the dance circles, 
the village enclosures, and the covered ways, were all here used 
not only for practical purposes and such as would subserve the 
convenience of the people living in the villages, but they were 
especially devoted to religious purposes and contained sym 
bols in them. The relics also were symbolic, and many of 
them were buried with the persons, their very position, in con 
nection with the bodies, having a religious significance. It was 
not one cult alone that was symbolized in these, for some of the 
burial mounds contained offerings to the spirit of the dead the 
symbols of the soul being placed in the mouth; but there were 
other offerings made to the water, to the sun, others to the fire, 
and others to the moon. The relics placed upon the altars, the 
ornaments, the flint discs, the copper crescents, the mica 
plates, the carved images, and the pottery figures, were all conse 
crated to the sun, and, when placed as offerings upon the altar, 
bore in their shape the symbol of the sun, as much as the altars 
themselves, or the earth-works in which they were enclosed. 
There is no locality where this system of sun worship is not 
symbolized. What is more, the system seemed to have brought 
into its service, and made useful, the symbols of the preceding 

*This is the explanation given by the Dakotas of tree worship. The spirit of life 
was in the tree. It may be that this will account for the tree worship in the East, 
and will explain how tree worship and phallic worship became associated. The two 
in the East were symbolized by the sacred groves, so-called, the symbol of Asharah, 
or Astarte, the moon goddess. 



248 

stages of worship. The serpent, the phallic symbol, the carved 
animals, the crescent-shaped relics, the fire-beds, all were as 
sociated with the sun circle and made parts of the symbolism of 
sun worship. We imagine the combination to have been as fol 
lows: The sun symbol was embodied in the earth circles; the 
moon cult in the altars; the fire cult in the ashes in and beside 
the altars; the water cult in the ponds and wells found in and 
near the enclosures; animal worship in the effigies; the phallic 
symbol in the horse-shoe earth-works. We also find that the 
elements, such as the four quarters of the sky, four winds, four 
points of the compass, are symbolized by the cross and four con 
centric circles. So we come to look at everything as more or 
less symbolic. It is remarkable, as we study the village sites, 
how many of the conveniencies of village life were placed under 
the protection of the sun divinity, and how much provision was 
made for the worship of the sun under all circumstances. We 
notice that the ponds and springs are near the villages; that 
covered ways connect the villages with the river s bank, and we 
imagine there was among the Mound-builders, as well as among 
the Pueblos and Cliff-dwellers, a cult which regarded springs and 
rivers as sacred and peopled them with divinities. We imagine 
that the most sacred ceremonies were observed in connection with 
these springs, and that the elaborate earth-works were erected 
to give solemnity to the various mysteries, which were directed 
by the secret orders. These different cults were combined, but, 
for the sake of convenience, it will be well to take them up 
separately. 

I. First let us consider the water cult. This is a system which 
was very obscure in America, as, in fact, it was in the East. It 
seems to have existed here, but was closely connected with the 
solar cult, the ceremonies of that cult requiring the presence of 
water to make it complete. We have shown how extensively dis 
tributed was the tradition of the flood in America, how varied 
was the symbolism which perpetuated this tradition. We do not 
know that any such tradition existed among the Mound-builders 
nor can we discover any symbol which perpetuated it; but the 
water cult which we recognize is very similar to that which pre 
vailed in Europe at a very early date, and was there symbolized 
in the prehistoric earth-works. We turn, then, to the resemblance 
which may be recognized between some of the earth-works in 
Southern Ohio and those in Great Britain. We have already 
spoken of this, but as certain new investigations and new discov 
eries have been made, we review the evidence. 

i. The first group of works which we shall cite is the one 
at Portsmouth. The chief evidence is given by the avenues or 
the covered ways, which seem to have connected the enclosures 
on the different sides of the river. These, by aid of the ferry 
across the river, must have been the scene of extensive religious 



249 

processions, which can be compared to nothing better than the 
mysterious processions ot Druid priests which once characterized 
the sacrifices to the sun among the ancient works of Great Brit 
ain. It has been estimated that the length of the avenues or 
covered ways was eight miles. The parallel walls measure about 
four feet in height and twenty feet base, and were not far from 
1 60 feet apart. It is in the middle group that we discover the 
phallic symbol (see Fig. i), the fire cult, the crescent of the 
moon and the sun circle. In the works upon the west bank of 
the Scioto we find the effigy enclosed in a circle (see Fig. 2), as 
a sign of animal worship, and in the concentric circles (see Fig. 3) 
with the enclosed conical mound, on the Kentucky side, we find 
the symbols of sun 
worship. We would 

here call attention MaswMitf.jpj ,.*_ ^ ^ - X^. 

to the theories re 
cently thrown out 
by Mr. A. L. Lewis 
that the water cult 
was combined with 
the sun cult at the 




iXSMiRj 

& 



fig. 1. Horse Shoe Enclosures at Portsmouth. 



great works at Ave- 
bury; the avenues 
made of standing 
stones having pass 
ed over the Kennet 
Creek before they 
reached the circle at 
Beckhampton ; the same is true at Stanton Drew and at Mount 
Murray, in the Isle of Man. In each of these places were covered 
avenues reaching across marshy ground towards the circles. "If 
the circles were places of worship or sacrifice, such avenues con 
necting them with running streams may have had special object 
or meaning."* 

Mr. Lewis says: "I have never adopted Stukeley s snake 
theory, ior I could never see any great resemblance to a serpent, 
nor could I see any thing very suggestive of a serpent in the ar 
rangement of the other circles. Still, Stukeley s statements about 
the stones of the avenue, leading from the great circle toward 
the river, are very precise." Stukeley says: "There were two 
sets of concentric circles surrounded by another circle, which 
was encircled by a broad, deep ditch, outside of which was an 
embankment large enough for a railway; two avenues of stone 
leading southwest and southeast. The theory now is that they 
led across the water of Kennet Creek to Beckhampton and to 
Overton Hill. The so-called coves in the large circles mark the 



*Journal of Anthropological Institute, February, 1891 



250 




site of altars, whereon human sacrifice may have been offered to 
the sun; but the avenues mark the place. through which proces 
sions passed in making their sacrifices, a passage over water 
being essential to the ceremony." 

This is a new explanation of these works, but it is one which 
becomes very significant in connection with the works at Ports 
mouth. Here the avenues approach the river in such a way as 
to show that a canoe ferry was used to cross the river, the cere 
mony being made more significant by that means. The covered 
ways, to be sure, do not reach the edge" of the water, but termi 
nate with the second terrace, leaving the bottom-land without 
any earth-work. This would indicate that the works are very 
old, and were, in fact, built when the waters covered the bottom 
land. It may be said, in this connection, that all the covered 
ways are similar to these; they end at the second terrace, and 

were evidently built 
when the flood- 
plain was filled with 
water. As addition 
al evidence that the 
works at Ports 
mouth were devot 
ed to the water cult 
and were similar to 
those at Avebury, 
in Great Britain, we 
would again refer to 
the character of the 
works at either end 
of the avenues. 
Without insisting 

Fig. S Effigy on the Scioto. ,, 

upon the serpent 

symbol being embodied in the avenues, we think it can be 
proven that the most striking features of the work at Avebury 
are duplicated here; the sun symbol being embodied in the con 
centric circles upon the Kentucky side; the phallic symbol in 
the horse-shoe mounds upon the Ohio side (see Figs. I, 2, 3) and 
the avenues of standing stones corresponded to the covered ways 
which connected the enclosures on the Kentucky side with that 
on the Ohio side. 

The group on the third terrace is the one which is the most sig 
nificant. Here the circle surrounds the horseshoe, as the circle 
of stones does at Avebury. Here, too, is a natural elevation that 
has been improved by art, and made to serve a religious pur 
pose. Mr. T. W. Kinney says this mound, which was a natural 
elevation, was selected as the site for a children s house. In ex 
cavating the cellar there was discovered a circular altar composed 
of stones which were standing close together, and showed evi- 



251 




denceofheat. This altar was four feet below the surface. Lead 
ing from the altar was a channel about eighteen inches wide, 
composed of clay, which was supposed to be designed to " carry 
off the blood", givingthe idea that human sacrifices were offered 
here, as they were upon the altars at Avebury. Squier and 
Davis say that the horse-shoes constitute the most striking feat 
ures; they are both about the same size and shape. They meas 
ure about eighty feet in length and seventy feet in breadth. 
Enclosing these in part is a wall about five feet high. These 
horse-shoes might well be called coves. The ground within them 
was formerly perfectly level. They open out toward the river 
and were on the edge of the terrace, and so were elevated above 
the surro un di ng 
country and were 
in plain sight. Near 
them was a natural 
elevation eighteen 
feet high, but grad 
ually subsiding into 
a ridge towards the 
enclosed mound. A 
full view of the en 
tire group may be 
had from its sum 
mit. The enclosed 
mound was twenty- 
eight feet high by 
one hundred and 
ten feet base. It is 
truncated and surrounded by a low circumvallation. As addi 
tional evidence to this, we may mention here the great wor s 
situated about a mile west. See Fig. 4. Here is a group of ex 
quisite symmetry and beautiful proportions. It consists of an 
embankment of earth, five feet high, thirty feet base, with an in 
terior ditch twenty-five feet across and six feet deep. Enclosed 
is an area ninety feet in diameter; in the center of this is a 
mound forty feet in diameter and eight feet high. There is a 
narrow gateway through the parapet, and a causeway over the 
ditch leading to the enclosed mound. This is a repetition of the 
central mound with its four concentric circles. It is said that 
there was near this a square enclosure resembling the chunky 
yards ot the South, and that the group taken together was of a 
Southern type. There are several small circles, measuring from 
one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty feet in diameter; 
also a few mounds in the positions indicated in the plan.* 

Most noticeable is a mound within four concentric circles, placed 

*Mounds like this are common in this district and may be regarded as sun sym 
bols. See the cut of works at Portsmouth; also of terraced mound in Greehup 
County, Kentucky, and at Winchester, Indiana. 



Fig. 8. Sun Circles. 



at irregular intervals in respect to each other. These were cut 
at right angles by four broad avenues which conform nearly to 
the cardinal points. From the level summit of this mound a 
complete view of every part of this work is commanded. On 
the supposition that it was in some way connected with religious 
rites, the mound afforded the most conspicuous place for their 
observance. See Fig. 3. 

" The mound in the center, at first glance, might be taken for 
a natural elevation. It is possible that it is a detached spur of 
the hill enlarged and modified by art. It is easy while standing 
on the summit of this mound to people it with the strange 



ffl^ 







Mg. It lerraced Mound opposite l orixinoul/t. 

priesthood of ancient superstition and fill its walls with the 
thronging devotees of mysterious worship. The works were de 
voted to religious purposes and were symbolic in their design."* 
Atwater speaks of this group as having wells in close proximity 
to the horse-shoes. He speaks of the earth between the parallel 
walls as having been leveled by art and appear to have been 
used as a road-way by those who came down the river for the 
purpose of ascending the high place. We have dwelt upon these 
peculiarities of the works at Portsmouth for the very reason that 
they seem to prove the existence of a water cult, and because it 
so closely resembles those in which the water cult has been rec 
ognized in Great Britain. We maintain, however, that it was a 
cult which was associated with sun worship, and that the phallic 
symbol was embodied here. We maintain that sacrifices were 
offered to the sun, and that the human victims were kept in the 
corral on one side of the river; that they were transported across 
the water and carried up to the third terrace, and immolated 

Ancient Monument*, page 82. 



253 



near the horseshoe, and that afterwards the processions passed 
down the terrace, through the avenue, across the river, a second 
time, and mounted the spiral pathway to the summit of the ter 
raced mound situated at the end of the avenue. 

In reference to this corral, so called (see Fig. 5), we may say 
that the walls surrounding the area are very heavy, and are 
raised above the area enclosed, in places as much as fifty feet. 
They convey the 
idea that the en 
closure was for 
holding captives, 
for they resemble 
the walls of a state s 
prison rather than 
those of a fort ; be 
ing level on the top 
and made as if de 
signed for a walk 
for sentinels. The 
parallel walls or 
covered ways on 
each side of this 
enclosure have an 
explanation from 
this theory. They 
were built to the 
end of the terrace 
and were probably 
intended to protect 
the sentinels who 
were stationed at 
the ends. They 
command exten 
sive views, both up 
and down the river, 
and were conve 
nient places from 
which to watch the 
enemy, as they 
might approach to release the captives. The groups upon the 
Kentucky side and the effigies on the Scioto are connected with 
these horse-shoes and with one another by the avenues. The 
group to the east is the most interesting on account of its sym 
bolism, and the most interesting part of it is the mound with the 
spiral pathway. 

2. The works at Newark are next to be considered. These 
works are described in the chapter on " sacred" or village en 
closures, but we take them up here in connection with the water 




Fig. 5. Corral. 



254 

cult. The most remarkable feature of this entire group of works 
is that presented by the various lines of parallel walls, which ex 
tend from one enclosure to another, and from the enclosures to 
the water s edge. There were five sets of parallels : One has 
been traced from the octagon westward for about two miles; 
another extends from the octagon toward the large square for 
about a mile in length ; a third extends from the octagon to the 
bottom-land, and probably once reached the water s edge; a fourth 
extended from the circle called the old fort to the square; a 
fifth extended from an irregular circle, on the edge of the ter 
race, to the bottom-land, and, perhaps, to the water s edge. 

One of the peculiarities of these parallels is that the roadway, 
in many places, was elevated above the wall. In the northern 
avenue this elevated grade extends fora quarter of a mik, and is 
broad enough for fifty persons to walk abreast. A similar grade 
is found in the avenue that leads from the large square to the 
irregular circle. The same is true of the parallel leading from the 
large circle, down the terrace, to the South Fork. The bank of 
the third terrace, here 20 feet high, is cut down and graded to an 
easy ascent. The roadway is elevated above the walls, and ex 
tends out upon the alluvial bottoms beyond the wall. A similar 
grade is constructed at the extremity of the northern wall. 
There was a road excavated into the terrace for one hundred 
and fifty feet, but the earth was used to form an elevated way 
over the low, swampy gronnd at the foot of the terrace. These 
excavations constitute quite an imposing feature when seen on 
the spot. The inquiry is, what was the object in erecting these 
parallel walls, and making such elevated roadways, with grades 
at the ends of the roads leading to the bottom-lands? The water 
is now not there and the grade seems to be useless. One sup 
position is, that at the time the works were erected, the water 
flowed over the first terrace and washed up to the foot of the 
second terrace; and that these grades were used for canoe land 
ings.* Why are the roadways elevated and made so broad? 
Were they designed for the passage of armies, with troops 
marching abreast? Were they designed for religious proces 
sions, which were led from the water to the sacred enclosures? 
Let us examine the works more particularly. Squier and Davis 
say that a number of small circles were found within the paral- 

*Mr. Isaac Smucker says the terrace was fifty feet above the bottom land; very few 
mounds and no walls on the bottom lands. He thinks one set of parallels may have 
led across Licking Creek to Lancaster. He says that formerly there was a tort on a 
htll to the west, of these works; a tort which contained fifty acres, whose walls 
were conformed to the outline of the hill. This may have been another of the hill 
forts, which were used by the sun worshipers as a refuge when their villages were 
attacked. He also says that the works extended from the Raccoon to the Licking 
and covered the plain. The octagon was on the bank of one stream, the irregular 
circle and graded way near the forks, and the parallel led toward the other stream. 
The alligator effigy and the fort referred to were several miles west. He speaks of a 
reservoir or artificial lake, twenty rods in diameter, and a sugar-loaf mound, about 
fifteen leet high, situated on one of the bluffs, also of a crescent earth-work and large 
enclosure between the alligator mound and the old fort. See American Antiquarian. 
Vol. VII, Page 349. 



255 

lels, they probably mark the site of ancient circular dwellings. 
Circles having diameters of one hundred feet, with ditches inter 
ior to the walls, and elevated embankments interior to the ditch, 
are also seen at various points at the ends and along the sides of 
the covered way. These circles, with their enclosed crescents, 
betray a coincidence with those connected with the squares and 
covered ways at Hopeton, at Highland and elsewhere. May 
they not have been circles in which religious houses were placed? 
There is one circumstance which favors this supposition. Mr. 
Isaac Smucker says there was a group of burial mounds near 
the old fort, around which was a paved circle eight feet wide, 
the mounds being closely connected at the base. Each one of 
the mounds was made up of a series of layers of earth alternating 
with layers of sand, followed by layers of cobble stone, the cob 
ble stones being first placed over a strong burning. In the 
mounds six or eight post holes were discovered filled with sand; 
the center post extending down several feet. The conclusion 
was, that the conical buildings and rotundas had been built upon 
these mounds; and that fires and burials or burnings had taken 
place in the rotundas. Different hearths or fire beds had been 
built inside, making different occasions of sacrifice. Mr. I. 
Dille says: "To the east of the line of embankments on the 
second bottom of the creek, are numerous mounds. In 1828, 
when constructing the canal, a lock was built here. Fourteen 
human skeletons were found four feet beneath the surface, some 
of which seemed to have been burned. Over these skeletons, 
carefully placed, was a large quantity of mica in sheets and in 
plates; some of them were eight and ten inches long, and four 
and five inches wide. It is said that from fourteen to twenty 
bushels of this material were thrown out." 

We are to notice, in this connection, the various religious 
works at Newark. I. The effigies ; there was a bird effigy inside 
the old fort, with its altar ; an alligator effigy, with its altar, at 
Granville. 2. The circles; there are circles inside the avenues, 
various circles on the terrace inside the large enclosures ; many 
of these circles have crescents, showing that the moon cult pre 
vailed. 3: The ponds and water-courses ; the pond near the old 
fort has a peculfar shape. 4, The corrals; the old fort was a good 
specimen; it resembled that at Portsmouth, on the Kentucky 
side; this had the ditch on the inside and had a high wall, which 
gave the impression that it was designed to hold captives within 
the area rather than to defend the area from an attack from with 
out. 5. The parallel walls located near the fort; these were 
undoubtedly for the trial of captives, where they ran the gaunt 
let. 6. The network of walls and gateways ; this can be 
explained only on the supposition that elaborate ceremonies were 
observed here ; the walls can not be regarded as game-drives; 
they may have been designed for protection of the villages, but, 



256 



if so, they were villages of a class of sun-worshipers. But it is 
probable that here all forms of worship animal worship, fire 
worship, moon worship, water cult were mingled together and 
brought under the control of the solar cult. 

3. The same lesson is impressed upon us as we go away from this 
series of works and enter the circles and sacred enclosures on 
the Scioto River, on Paint Creek, the Muskingum River, the 
Miami River and the White River. In nearly all of these places 
we find the enclosures having the form of the square and the 
circle, and having about the same area as those of Newark. We 
find also that there are small circles with ditches and small cres 
cent embankments inside of the circles ; also gateways opening 
toward the enclosures, giving the idea that they were places of 
sacred assembly and at the same time symbolic in character. We 
notice, too, that in many ot the groups there are covered ways 
resembling those at Newark, and that the graded ways generally 

, % lead from the sacred en 

closures to the water s 
edge, giving the idea that 
they were used for pro 
cessions, the water cult 
being common in all of 
the localities. At Mari 
etta the graded way leads 
from the second terrace 
up to the third terrace, 
and connects the enclos 
ure and the three temple 
platforms with the river, 
thus giving the impression that they were used for religious 
purposes rather than for warlike, that processions leading captives 
passed from the water s edge up to the temples and to the high 
conical mound.* 

Mr. Harris says there was at Marietta a well sixty feet deep 
and twenty feet in diameter, of the kind used in early days, when 
water was brought up in pitchers by steps. This well may have 
been for the convenience of the people living in the enclosures, 
but its proximity to the temple platforms and the conical mound 
and the graded way makes it significant. 

4. The works at Paint Creek. There were wells or reservoirs 
inside both the enclosures at this point. Atwater says in one 
there was a large pond or reservoir fifteen feet deep and thirty-nine 




. Works at Paint Creek. 



*Squier and Davis say there was a sloping terrace 700 feet wide between the end 
of the covered way and the bank of the river; that there were no works on this ter 
race, which was about forty or fifty feet above the river. They seem to doubt that the 
river flowed over the terrace at the time that the graded way was built. It Is possi 
ble that the village was upon this terrace, and that the Inclosure upon the upper 
terrace was the sacred place, where the chiefs dwelt, and that the graded way with 
the protecting walls were designed for processions from the village to the temples, 
though the other supposition Is a plausible one. 



257 

feet in diameter. It was supplied by a rivulet which runs through 
the wall, but at present sinks into the earth. These wells mav 
have been merely for the convenience of the villagers, but there 
are so many places where hot houses or assembly houses were 
placed near ponds of water or streams or springs, we conclude 
that water served an important part in the religious ceremonies. 
These enclosures on Paint Creek contain mounds or sacrificial 
places, which seem to be connected with the ponds. Atwater 
speaks of one covered with stones and pebbles. He says this 
mound was full of human bones. Some have expressed the be 
lief that on it human beings were once sacrificed. Near this 
was an elliptical mound, built in two stages, one eight feet high, 
the other fifteen feet. On the other side of the large mound was 
a work in the form of a half moon, set round the edges with 
stones, and near this a singular 
mound, five feet high and thirty 
feet in diameter, and composed 
entirely of red ochre, an abund 
ance of which is found on a hill 
near by. The small circular 
enclosure opens into a large area 
and connects with it by a gate 
way. Inside the circle is a lesser 
circle, six rods in diameter. 
It seems probable that this cir 
cle marks the site of the rotunda 
and that the whole enclosure was 



thwork on Motion 16, township 
9, north range 8, near Anderson, lad- 
( inch 160 feoU 




used for sacred purposes, the*** 7 " 
larger enclosure being the place where the imposing religious 
ceremonies were observed. Atwater speaks especially of the 
wells, one of them being inside of the enclosure, near the mound, 
and others outside the walls. It would seem from the proximity 
of the wells to the mounds that there were here the water cult, the 
fire cult, the moon cult combined, and the complicated system 
of religion in which the priests had great power.* See Fig. 6. 

Another locality where the water cult is apparent is on the 
White River, in Indiana. Here, in one place, is a square enclos 
ure with a diameter of 1320 and 1080 feet, which has a mound 
in the center nine feet high and one hundred feet in diameter. 
This is on the fair grounds at Winchester. Near Anderson, on 
the banks of the White River, there is a group of small enclos 
ures. One of these has a constricted elliptical embankment one 
hundred and fifty feet in diameter. Another has a length of two 
hundred and ninety-six feet and a width of two hundred and fifty 
feet, the wall being thirty-five feet at base and four feet high; 
ditch, eight feet wide, with a gateway which is protected by two 



*Ancient Works on Paint 






258 




small mounds. On the same section is a group containing four 
circles, two ellipses, and a terraced mound. The embankment 
of one at the base is fifty feet wide and nine feet high ; the ditch 
is five feet wide, ten and one half feet deep. The central area is 
130 feet in diameter, and contains a mound four feet high and 

30 feet in diameter. The gate 
way is 30 feet wide. Carriages 
may drive in through the gate 
way and around the mound 
on the terrace, and have room 
to spare. The group is an in 
teresting one, and was evident 
ly designed to be symbolic. 
Other earth-works similar to 
this are found near Cambridge, 
in Wayne County. Here there 
are two circles, with embank 
ments four feet high, and wide 
enough on the top to allow 

Fig. S.-Sun Circle on White River. two carr j a geS to paSS each 

other. The ditch is on the inside of the embankment, and 
within the ditch is a circular, level area, with a causeway 
leading across the ditch through the gateway. These are situ 
ated on the bank of the Whitewater River. A passage-way 
leads from the bluff to the water s edge, equally distant from 
both circles. 

These circles seem to be all religious symbol?, the enclosure 
with the circular mound and 
ditch, and passageway across the 
ditch, being symbolic of the sun, 
the constricted ellipses being a 
symbol which resembles the 
banner stones. The graded ways 
from these small enclosures to 
the water s edge show that with 
the solar cult the water cult was 
here associated. 

There are several structures 
devoted to the water cult on the 

Kanawha River, in West Virgin- Fig. 9 Circle and Ellipse near Anderson, 

ia, and on the Wateree River, in Indiana. 

North Carolina. These resemble the earth-works in Southern 
Ohio. Their peculiarities are that they are circular enclosures, 
have uniform measurement of 660 feet in circumference, have a 
ditch on the inside and a mound on the inside of the ditch. 
Several of the circles have a truncated mound situated outside 
of the gateway and guarding the entrance, conveying the idea 
that there may have been a rotunda on the summit, and an 




Ancicnl earthworks on northeast comer 
Motion 16. township 9, range 8, near Ander- 
ton, Madison county, lod. 

I inch-loO feet 




259 

assembly place or council house inside the circle. There is near 
one of these circles a graded way which leads from the enclosure 
through the terrace down to the bottom land of the Kanawha 
River, a feature which is noticeable in the Ohio mounds, and was 
there ascribed to the water cult. One of these mounds was ex 
plored and found to contain an altar exactly like the altars in 
Ohio It was covered with charred human bones. There were 
in the same mound, at different depths, skeletons ; one recum 
bent, two in sitting posture. The altar was at the bottom, this 
showing that the ancient race was the same as the sun worship- 




Fig. 10. Sun Circles and Graded Way on the Kanawha, River. 

ers of Ohio. But it was followed by others, who built mounds, 
but did not build altars. 

5. The same lesson is conveyed by the graded ways, which have 
been discovered in the Southern States, and which, according to 
Squier and Davis, are quite numerous. Descriptions have been 
given of these by Mr. Bartram, and his explanation of them was 
that they had been used for avenues which connected the estufas 
with the artificial ponds used for bathing. They are called savan 
nahs, as they are now meadows, but they were once undoubtedly 
filled with water and are artificial. The mounds were probably 
foundations for rotundas. 

Mr. H. S. Halbert has described another mound situated in 
Winston County, Mississippi. Here was a mound about forty 
feet high with a semicircular rampart surrounding it. A road 
way led from this mound towards the creek, but ended in the 



260 



Flan and Section of Altar 

ftf < 




Fig. 11. Altar. 



intervening swamp. The Messier mound in Georgia is another 
specimen also. This is a pyramid, which was once surrounded 
by a rampart or wall. There is near it a large, artificial pond, 
covering an area of about two acres, and an immense circular 
well forty-eight feet deep. The mound is one of the largest in the 
Southern States, 320 feet long, 180 feet wide, 57 feet high, sit 
uated upon the summit of a hill. It was not erected for defen 
sive purposes, but as a temple. In 
f \ the religious festivals observed here, 
j ablutions served an important part, 
and water was an essential element. 
II. We now come to the system 
j of sun worship. This was a very 
extensive system, and one which 
seemed to rule over all others. In 
VI fact, we may say that all the other 
systems are adjuncts or tributaries 
to this. Sun worship was widely 
distributed, and prevailed among nearly all the districts in the 
Mound-builders territory, though it is the most prominent in 
the middle and southern districts. It found its highest, or, at 
least, most complicated, development in Southern Ohio. Here 
a very ancient people were devoted to sun worship, whose history 
is unknown, but whose works and relics were left in great num 
bers. We enter this district, and shall study the earth-works and 
relics here, with the idea that we shall ascertain something about 
the system There is no part of the country where the tokens 
are more suggestive and interesting. In fact, nearly everything 
here is suggestive of this system. A most complicated series of 
earth-works, some of them designed for villages, some of them 
for forts, some for dance circles, some for 
burial places, some for council houses, 
but they were all symbolic. Here were : 
also many solid mounds, some of which 
contain altars ; others were sacrificial 
places; others were lookout stations; 
others were temple platforms; others 
were places ot religious assembly; but 
in all of these we find symbols of the 
sun. It would seem as if the sun wor- 
shipers had been so impressed with their Fig. is. Altar. 

system that they had used the works of nature as contribu 
tors to worship the hilltops, the valleys, the streams, the very 
springs having been used by them in carrying out the different 
parts of their varied cult. The clan life prevailed here, and clan 
villages were numerous; clan emblems were not uncommon, but 
sun worship was the uniform element with all the clans. This 
uniformity extended not merely to the river system, bringing 



fl*n of JDtVr 




261 




together the clans scattered along each river, but it extended 
also from river to river, and brought together the people of the 
entire district into one grand confederacy. This confederacy 
extended from the White River, in Indiana, to the Muskingum, 
in Ohio, and may have embraced all the country between the 
Wabash and the Alleghany Rivers. There are also some evi 
dences that it extended from Kentucky into West Virginia, and 
that the works upon the Kenawha River and the Licking River 
belonged to the same system. 

The altar mounds described in the cuts (Figs. 1 1 to 14) con 
tain no relics. The first 
one contained fragments 
of pottery; the second a 
mass of lime and frag 
ments of calcined shells. 

May it not be 

that pottery 
vessels were 
- r _ offered in one 

Fig. IS.-Altar Mount* and inscri bed 

shell gorgets in the other, the fire having reduced these to ashes. 
The other mounds in this enclosure contained altars on which 
offerings of costly and highly wrought relics had been placed 
two hundred pipes on one, large quantities of galena, thirty 
pounds in all, on another, obsidian arrows and pearl beads on 
another, copper gravers and or 
naments made of copper and cov 
ered with silver on another. The 
mica crescent depicted in Fig. 15 
was at the bottom of the largest 
mound, one which overlooked the 
whole group. The crescent was shelving, its outer edge being 
raised a few inches above the inner edge, but there was no altar 
in the mound and no other relics. The location of the group 
of mounds is to be noticed here. "Mound City" is opposite the 

*The description of the mounds containing the altars is given in another chap 
ter. The altars represented in cuts 11 and 12 were found in mounds Nos. 2 and 4. No. 
3 contained a double altar. This altar showed marks of intense heat. The relics 
which had been offered were varied; arrow-points of obsidian, of limpid quartz, of 
copper gravers or chisels, copper tubes and carved pipes. In mound No. 8 was an 
altar somewhat resembling thai, in Mound No. 2. The deposit on this altar was very 
extensive; 200 pipes carved in stone, pearl and shell beads, discs and tubes made of 
copper, copper ornaments covered with silver. Masses of copper were found fused 
together in the center of the basin. The pipes were in fragments. They represented 
animals, such as the otter, heron, fish, hawk with bird in its talons, panther, bear, 
wolf, beaver, squirrel, raccoon, crow, swallow, buzzard, paroquet, toucan, turtle, frog, 
toad, rattlesnake, and a number of sculptured human heads. Mound No. 7 was the 
one which contained the crescent, Fig. 13. It was the largest and highest of the 
group, and commanded a view of the entire group. It contained no altar, merely a 
clay floor, but the crescent was shelving or dish-shaped; the outer edge rested on an 
elevation of sand, six inches in height. The mica crescent was the chief feature of 
the mound, though the earth of the mound was incredibly compact. Mound No. 9 
contained an altar and a layer of charcoal. In the altar were instruments of obsid 
ian, scrolls of mica, traces of cloth, ivory and bone needles, pearl beads. The articles 
contained in the altars show an extensive aboriginal trade as well as an advanced 
stage of art. The symbolism contained in the altars prove that the offerings were 
made to the sun and moon. See chapter on Altars and Ash-pits; see also figure of 
Mound City. 




Fig. U. Altar in Relief. 



262 

enclosure at Hopeton and nearly opposite the square enclosure 
at Cedar Bank. The covered way at Hopeton leads toward 
Mound City. May it not be that this was the way through which 
processions passed on the occasions when the annual burial feast 
or "great burning" took place ? The passage across the river by 
a ferry to the place of burning would resemble the Egyptian 
custom, and would fulfil the picture which Virgil has drawn of 
Charon crossing the river Styx with the souls of the dead.* 

Let us take up the works in detail, and see the symbolism 
contained in them. We notice that there are truncated pyramids 
or platforms in this district, generally inside of square enclosures, 
that they were orientated and had inclined passage-ways to their 
summits. We notice also that there were elliptical and conica 1 
mounds inside of the circular enclosures, many of them sur 
rounded by pavements in the 
form of ellipses and crescents. We 
also notice that these large en 
closures are always connected by 
parallel walls or covered ways 
with the clusters of small circles 
and crescents; that the altar 

is. Orescent Pavement. mounds are generally surrounded 

by circular walls; that even lookout mounds are inside of circles. 
We notice further that there are terraced mounds with spiral 
pathways on their sides, and many of these have ditches and 
circles surrounding them, some of them have several concentric 
circles. We notice also that some of the enclosures are in the 
shape of constricted ellipses, others have triangular gateways, 
others combine the square and circle in one. We notice also 
that the altars aie carefully built in the form of circles and squares. 
We conclude that a complicated system of symbolism prevailed, 
a symbolism devoted to sun worship. We notice further that 
the relics are symbolic, that while many of the pipes were carved 
in the shape of animals and serpents, some of the tablets were 
inscribed with human tree figures. The mica plates and copper 
ornaments and other metallic relics were in the shape of crescents, 
circles and scrolls. Some of them had the suastika inscribed 
upon them, a mingled symbolism being apparent in the relics. 
We notice still further the resemblance between the earth-works 
and the relics, animal figures being found in some of them, as 
in the pipes, but crescents, circles and scalloped figures in the 
earth-works as well as in the tablets and metallic relics. While 
the suastika has not been recognized in an earth-work, the cross 
has been. The serpent and the bird effigy are well known, but 
these remind us of the figures on the inscribed shell gorgets so 




*H. S. Halbert speaks of an ancient road which crosses the Tombigbee, connect 
ing the cemetery on Line Creek in Mississippi and Mound-builders settlements in 
Alabama. The habit of crossing streams with the bodies of the dead is an old one, 
and was common among the Egyptians and other Eastern nations. 



263 

common in the South, the elliptical enclosure in the body of the 
serpent resembling the same figure on the inscribed shells. 

The earth-works of Ohio were designed to protect the vil 
lages, which were so numerous there, but they were villages 
which were pervaded by sun worship. The people dwelling 
within them were surrounded by the symbols of the sun and 
followed all the processes of village life under the control of this 
luminary. They went to the fields, to the dance grounds, to the 
places of assembly, to the ponds and streams and springs under 
its protection, and even placed their dead in graves or upon altars 
which were symbolic of the sun. When they conducted war, 
they brought back their captives, kept them for a time in enclos 
ures consecrated to the sun, and afterwards immolated them as 
victims and perhaps presented their bodies or hearts as offerings 
to the sun, making the remarkable terraced mounds the place 
where this chief rite was celebrated. The platform mounds may 
have been foundations for temples; they were, however, temples 
which were depositories for the bodies of their eminent men, rather 
than assembly places, and were approached by great and solemn 
processions, the graded and covered ways having been built for 
the express purpose of accommodating these ceremonies. There 
was nothing like this among the aborigines of the North or of 
the South, though we imagine that if we substituted stone mon 
uments for the earth-works that the Druidic system which pre 
vailed in Great Britain would fit the frame and make the two 
pictures very similar. There was no living race in America 
that had any such symbolism or customs. The nearest approach 
to it would be the confederacies of the South, that were in the 
midst of the pyramids, and who occupied them, though they 
may not have built them. 

The similarity between the symbolism of the Ohio Mound- 
builders and that of the stone grave people will be seen from an 
examination of the cuts. See Plate IV. These cuts repre 
sent the shell gorgets found in these graves, as well as in the 
southern and southeastern mounds. In the gorgets the serpents 
are coiled and the concentric circles have symbols of the sun and 
moon and stars between them, as the squares have birds heads 
at their sides and loops at their corners, but the figures are the 
same and the significance similar to those contained in the cir 
cles, squares and serpent effigies of Ohio. 

Let us now draw the comparison between these works and 
those found in the Southern States. The Mound-builders of the 
South were evidently sun worshipers, but they embodied their 
system in an entirely different series of works, the pyramids being 
the chief structure of that region. There are contrasts and resem 
blances contrasts in the works, resemblances in the relics. We 
have opportunity of studying this contrast in this locality. The 
pyramid builders reached as far north as the Ohio River and 



264 



Vincennes on the Wabash, and we find that while they were sun 
worshipers, there was another class of sun worshipers alongside 
of them, who adopted the circle as their symbol, and built their 
structures in this form. Here we call attention to the large group 
of mounds which surrounds the city of Vincennes. Dr. Patton 
says of these: "The beautiful valley in which Vincennes now 
stands was doubtless the site of a great city occupied by the 
Mound-builders. There is a line of elevation surrounding this 

valley on the north, 

south and east, and 
from the great num 
ber of mounds in 
the locality, and the 
large size of some 
of them, and the 
relics found we may 
suppose that the 
region was densely 
populated by an an 
cient people whose 
history is veiled in 
obscurity." He 
speaks of the prob 
ability of some of 
the large mounds 
having been used 
for sacrificial or cre 
mation purposes. 
The mounds are 
called mounds of 
habitation, lookout 
mounds, temple 
mounds and terrace 
mounds. The pyr 
amid mound, one 
mile to the south 
of Vincennes, is 
surrounded by a 
cluster of small 
mounds, is 350x150 feet at the base, and 47 feet high. The 
sugar-loaf mound, just east of the city, is 216x180 feet, and 70 
feet high. The mound one mrle northeast of Vincennes has a 
diameter of 366x282 feet, and rises to an elevation of 67 feet 
above the plain. The top is level, with an area of 10x50 feet. 
A winding roadway from the east furnished the votaries an easy 
access to the summit. 

We may suppose that Vincennes marks the eastern extremity 
of this confederacy, of which the great Cahokia mound was the 




--_ . -* 



*--_ 



J* M- to-ult SurMfff. 



Fig. 16. Works at Alcxandersville. 




PLATE III.-TEMPLE PLATFOKM AT CEDAK BANK. 





PLATE IV. 



265 



center, while the works on the White River marked the western 
extremity ot the Ohio district, the two classes being brought 
into close proximity. We may notice the contrast between them. 
It may be that the Mound-builders of the Wabash River and of 
the Miami River migrated south at the incursion of the savage 
Indians and became the pyramid-builders of the Gulf States, one 
class erecting the pyramids on the Mississippi and the other those 
on the Atlantic coast. In that case, we shall be studying the 
relics of the same people when we take up the shell gorgets and 
the tablets of the South. 

Passing out from this region on the Wabash River, where there 
are so many pyramids, we come to the region where the circles 
are so numerous. We first find some of these on the White 
River, some of which have already been described. They be 
come more numerous as we reach the Big Miami, the works at 
Alexandersville and at Worthington (see Figs. 16 and 17) being 
notable specimens. The works at Worthington are very inter 
esting. There is here a square enclosure whose diameters are 
630x550 feet. It is orientated. At one corner of this is the 
small circle, 120 feet in diameter, whose gateway is in line with 
that of the square. On the wall is the truncated cone, 20 feet in 
height and 190 feet in diameter. Opposite the circle, on the 
bank of the stream, is the small circle with three openings. This 
circle has a ditch inside, and seems to combine the circle, the 
square and triangle 
in one. The author 
discovered at one 
time a group simi 
lar to this, at Fred- 
ericksburg, twenty 
miles north of New 
ark. Here were the 
triangle, the square 
and the circle all 
combined in one. 
Near by was an 
other enclosure, 
which was even 
more striking in its 
shape. It was sit- 



WOE3L1, 




Fig. 17. Works at Worthington, Ohio. 



uated on the bank of a beautiful stream and was in the midst of 
a fine forest of maples. The wall was in the shape of an ellipse 
with scalloped sides and ends, the curves being very grace 
ful. Within the walls was the ditch, which had varying widths. 
The platform within the ditch was rectangular. From the center 
of the platform a symmetrical oval mound rose to the height of 
fifteen feet. This was leveled at the top, but its base just fitted 
the platform, the ends and sides extending to the ditch. No one 




266 

who had seen this group could deny the taste and skill of the 
Mound-builders, or doubt that some of their works were erected 
for ornament and for the embodiment of a religious symbolism. 
We come next to the works on the Little Miami. These have 
recently been explored under the auspices of the Peabody Mu 
seum. Prof. Putnam says : " In this region are some of the 
most extensive ancient works of Ohio, such as Fort Ancient, 
with its walls of earth from twelve to twenty feet high, enclosing 
over a hundred acres; Fort Hill, with its surrounding walls of 
stone, enclosing about forty acres; the great serpent effigy, more 
than a thousand feet in length, the interesting works at High 
Bank, at Cedar Bank and at Hopeton, with their squares and 
circles, besides hundreds of mounds measuring from a foot or 
two in height to others forty or fifty feet in height. Here we have 
found elaborately constructed works of a religious character. 
Here, too, as offerings during some religious ceremony, we have 
found the most remarkable objects that have yet been taken 




Fig. IS. Spool Ornaments and Cross from Stone Graves.* 

from ancient works in the United States small carved terra 
cotta "figurines," representing men and women; ornaments made of 
native gold, silver, copper and meteoric iron; dishes elaborately 
carved in stone; ornaments made of stone, shell, mica, and the 
teeth and bones of animals; thousands of pearls perforated for 
ornaments; knives of obsidian; all showing that the intercourse 
of the people of that time extended from the copper and silver 
region of Lake Superior on the north to the home of the marine 
shells in the Gulf of Mexico on the south ; to the mica mines 
of North Carolina on the east and the obsidian deposits of the 
Rocky Mountains on the west." 

The beautiful location of this group of earth-works indicates 
that in this locality there must have been a great population, the 
relics containing evidence of the wealth of the builders, as well as 
the religious character of the works themselves. Near this 
group of works the explorers found in the burying place of the 
sun worshipers a number of graves containing skeletons attended 

*We would here acknowledge our obligation to General G. P. rhruston, who has 
kindly loaned us the cuts which he has used In illustrating his excellent work on 
The Antiquities of Tennessee." 



267 



by a large sea shell made into a drinking cup and a number of 
shell beads, and enclosed in the bones of each hand a spool- 
shaped ornament made of copper, a copper pin, a wooden bead 
covered with thin copper, several long, sharp-edged, flint knives 
of the same shape and character as obsidian flakes from Mexico. 
Of the ear ornaments, Prof Putnam says: "I have never found 
them in any of the several thousand stone graves of the Cum 
berland Valley which I have explored, nor have we found traces 
of them among the hundreds of graves associated with the sin 
gular ash-pits in the cemeteries which we have explored in the 
Little Miami Valley, nor with the skeletons buried in the stone 
mounds of Ohio. They seem to 
be particularly associated with 
a people with whom cremation 
of the dead, while a rite, was not 
general, and who built the great 
earth-works of the Ohio Valley. 
I can further say that in all re 
cent Indian graves I have opened 
this peculiar kind of ornament 
has not been found; we have 
certainly found them in such con 
ditions in Ohio that they must 
have been buried with their own 
ers long before the times of Co 
lumbus." One peculiarity of the 
altars is that they seem to have 
been emptied and used over and 
over again, but the bones and 
ashes were removed and buried 
by themselves. In reference to 
the locality Prof. Putnam says: 
" The more we examine these works the more interesting and 
instructive they become ; we have already spread before us the 
outlines of a grand picture of the singular ceremonies connected 
with the religion and mortuary customs of a strange people." 

Spool ornaments have since been found among the stone graves 
and described by Gen. Thruston. Fig. 18. The cross was found 
in the Big Harpeth works in Tennessee. One of the spools 
No. 2 was found in a large mound, embedded in ashes, south 
of Nashville. This had a thread of vegetable fibre -about the 
central shaft. The other No. 3 was found in a mound in 
the Savannah works. The little copper awl, with horn handle, 
was found on Rhea s Island, Tennessee. Gen. Thruston says in 
reference to these spools that their similarity to those of Ohio 
illustrates the intercourse which prevailed during prehistoric 
times. We call attention to the idol pipes; the one represented 
in the cut (Fig. 19) was taken from the great Etowah mound in 




Fig. 19. Pipe from Etowah Mound. 



268 

Georgia, ploughed up near the base of the pentagonal pyramid. 
It may have been used by one of the ancient caciques in blowing 
or puffing tobacco smoke to the sun at his rising, as was their 
habit. It shows the prevalence of sun worship during prehistoric 
times. The Mound-builders of this section had many idol or 
image pipes. Some of these pipes represented females holding 
pottery vessels, others males holding pipes; the sex being dis 
cernible in the faces and by the utensils used; the faces always 
directed towards the sun. 

What is peculiar about the works in Ohio is that the very 
mounds where so many relics were discovered and where offer 
ings had evidently been made were in circular enclosures which 
were sacred to the sun. The dimensions of the enclos 
ures are as follows: That upon the hill was a perfect circle, 550 
feet in diameter ; contained a large mound, in which was a stone 
wall, four feet high, surrounding an altar of burned clay, from 
which objects of shell, stone, copper were taken. A graded way 
from the top of the hill to the level land below connects the cir 
cle above with an oval enclosure, whose greatest diameter is 1500 
feet. Near this oval is an earth circle, 300 feet in diameter, and 
in the circle a small mound. At the foot of the graded way is 
another small circle, enclosing a burial mound and a group of 
altar mounds, around each of which is a circular wall. Here, 
then, we have the same symbol as at Portsmouth a conical 
mound inside of a circular enclosure, and what is more the 
mound has proved, after excavation, to contain an altar and 
relics upon the altar, thus confirming the thought that this was 
a symbol of the sun. 

The works at Cedar Banks suggest the same combination. 
This work is situated upon a table-land. It consists of a square 
enclosure, 1400 feet wide, 1050 feet in length, with tMo gateways 
60 feet wide, and an elevated platform 250 feet long, 150 feet 
broad and 4 feet high, which is ascended from the ends by graded 
ways 30 feet broad, and in all respects resemble the truncated 
pyramids at Marietta. About 300 feet distant from the enclos 
ure are the singular parallel walls, connected at the ends, 870 teet 
long and 70 feet apart. About one third of a mile south is a 
truncated pyramid, 120 feet square at the base, 9 feet in height, 
and a small circle, 250 feet in diameter, with an entrance from 
the south 30 feet wide. The sides of the pyramids correspond 
to the cardinal points. The circle has a ditch interior to the 
embankment. It has also a semi-circular embankment interior 
to the ditch, opposite the entrance. The group is so disposed as 
to command a fine view of the river terraces below it. The head 
land seems to have been artificially smoothed and rounded. See 
Plate III. 

It is difficult to determine the design of these works. The 
most plausible theory is that the truncated pyramid within the 



269 

square enclosure was the site of a temple or depository for the 
dead; that the small circle and small pyramid were covered with 
religious houses resembling rotundas; that the parallel lines 
were devoted to the trial of prisoners or captives, and that the 
whole group was used for religious. purposes. 

We pass from this region to Circleville (see Fig. 20), at the 
head of the Scioto River. Here was formerly a group of mounds 
which were the first ever explored. The exploration called at 
tention to the ancient works of the State. Here were a large 
circle and square. Within the circle the conical mound, sur 
rounding the mound a crescent-shaped fire-bed or pavement, 
composed of pebbles extending six rods from the base of the 



>H JO. 




Fig. 20. Circle and Crescent at Circleville. 

mound. Over the pavement was a raised way, which led from 
the area ot the enclosure to the summit of the mound, the in 
clined passage or bridge making the ascent easy. The crescent 
pavement attracted attention and was a very interesting feature 
of the work. It may be that fire was kept burning in this pave 
ment and that the passage to the summit of the mound was 
through the fire. Atwater says that the pavement was east of 
the central mounds and extended six rods from it. The mound 
was 10 feet high, several rods in diameter at the base; 26 feet in 
diameter at the summit. The circle was surrounded by two 
walls, with a ditch between, the height being 20 feet from the 
bottom of the ditch. They were picketed. The walls of the 
square were 10 feet high, and had eight gateways with watch 
towers or mounds, 4 feet high, inside the gateways. 



270 

Two human skeletons were found lying on the original surface 
of the earth, with charcoal and wood ashes, several bricks, well 
burned, a quantity of spear heads, a knife of elk s horn, a large 
mirror, made of mica, three feet in length, one and one half feet 
in breadth, one half inch in thickness. The skeleton had been 
burned in a hot fire, which had almost consumed the bones. 
The tumulus outside of the circle contained many skeletons that 
were laid horizontally with their heads toward the center, feet 
out. Beside the skeletons were some stone axes, knives and 
perforated tablets. The fosse near the mound, which contained 
skeletons, was semicircular in shape. 

Here, then, we have the symbolism of the fire cult, of the 
moon cult, and the solar cult, and we imagine the ceremonies 
observed were symbolic. It was the custom of the East to make 
the victims pass through the fire. It is possible that the same 
was practiced here, and that human sacrifice was offered on this 
mound. The crescent pavement is to be noticed, for there were 
others resembling it. Mr. S. H. Brinkley speaks of a pavement 
surrounding a large mound, near the Big; Twin Fort. This 
pavement was to the east of the mound and was crescent 
shaped; it was ninety feet in width, and extended under the foot 
of the mound. To the west of the mound, on the edge of the 
bluff, and below the bluff, was an immense heap of ashes, ten 
feet deep. The mound was elliptical in form and was perched 
upon the brow of the bluff in a sightly place. Mr. Brinkley 
thinks the ashes were the result of cremated remains ; and he is 
a very careful observer. From the quantity of ashes, we judge 
that the fire must have been long continued. Here, then, we 
have again a crescent shaped pavement associated with fire and 
ashes. The significance of these different works will be under 
stood if we compare the rites and the ceremonies of the sun 
worshippers of this district with those which prevailed in Syria 
and Phoenicia, in Old Testament times. The pavement of the 
crescent suggests the idea that the victims passed through the 
fire. The ashes within the mound suggest human sacrifices. The 
position of the bodies indicates that they were sacrifices to the 
sun. The height of the works suggest the thought that there 
were temples upon them which were devoted to the sun, 



271 



If tJNIVEKSITY 

CHAPTER XIV 



MOUND-BUILDERS AND INDIAN RELICS. 

The study of the archaeological relics of the Mississippi Val 
ley furnishes to. us a very interesting field, and brings before us 
many points of inquiry ; but no one of them is more interesting 
than the one set before us in the title of this chapter. There are, 
to be sure, a few relics which remind us of the distinction be 
tween the paleolithic and the neolithic ages in Europe; these 
have been discovered in so many places that they require us to 
adopt this classification in America. The large majority of 
the relics, however, are those which belong to the neolithic age, 
though, perhaps, if we were to make the distinction between the 
stone age and the copper age, we might say that the relics be 
long to this rather than the former age. The enquiry as to 
whether there is a difference between the Mound-builders and 
the Indian relics is an old one. Opinions upon it have drifted 
from one side to the other, the pendulum vibrating to either ex 
treme. Just at present the opinion seems to be setting toward 
the removal of the distinction. At the next turn, however, it 
may be that the distinction will be the more clearly brought out, 
and the differences between the two be more striking than ever. 
Even if we call them all Indians, we shall by and by see that the 
Indians differed radically among themselves, and may therefore 
well be called by different names. We might claim, to be sure, 
that the Mound-builders were occupants of the Mississippi Val 
ley at a time anterior to the historic Indians, as there were 
prehistoric races west of the Mound-builders territory who 
were anterior to the historic. This was probably the case 
with the so-called Zuni Indians, and was certainly the case with 
those Indians whom we call the Pueblos and Cliff-dwellers. We 
call them Pueblos and Cliff-dwellers just as we call these Mound- 
builders, but not so much because they were different from In 
dians, but because they built different structures and lived at a 
different period. 

I. Our first point will be that the terms Indian and Mound- 
builders are correct, and may properly be used. The following 
arguments, we think, will show that the terms are correct. 

I, It will be acknowledged by all that there was a time when 
mound-building was a common custom, and that there came a 
time when the custom ceased. This fact, we maintain, establishes 



272 

a mound-building period. The question we ask is whether the 
existence of such a period is not sufficient reason for us to use 
two terms, namely, the Mound-builders and the Indians, making 
the first significant of the people who lived during the mound- 
building period, but the last significant of the people who lived 
after that period. This may be a new use for the term Indian, 
and yet if the term Mound-builders should be made definitive, 
we see no reason why the last term should not also, especially 
as the time of the cessation of mound-building is not taken into 
the account, the only point being the use of the terms. There 
are, to be sure, other terms which might be used to express the 
same fact, yet these terms are also very suggestive. We fix 
upon the date of discovery as the time when the prehistoric age 
ceased and the historic began ; there was a time, however, which 
intervened between these two, or which overlapped the two, to 
which we give the name proto-historic. This makes three terms, 
each of which is expressive of periods as well as of people who 
lived during these periods. The Mound-builders we may regard 
as the people who lived during the prehistoric period ; the Indians 
the people who lived during the protohistoric age; the whites 
the historic people. These three terms we consider appropriate 
as indicating the periods, two of which have been freely ascribed 
to distinct people, namely, the Mound-builders and the whites. 
The question we ask is, Is it not as correct to ascribe the middle 
period to the Indians, and to say that they were also a distinct 
people. 

2. The contrast between the proto-historic relics and the pre 
historic will be brought out more fully if we apply the term 
" Mound-builder" to one and " Indian" to the other. The ab 
sence of the white man s influence would be distinctive of the 
first, and the increasing evidence of it would be distinctive of the 
second class. This line has not always been drawn. With some 
there is a tendency to carry the white man s history as far back 
as possible, and to trace the evidence of the white man s touch 
into the earliest part of the Mound-builders period, the effort 
apparently being to prove that many of the mounds were built 
after the time of the discovery. The truth is, however, that in 
nearly all parts of the country, the line which divides the white 
man s work from the aboriginal, is the line which separates the 
protohistoric from the prehistoric, and should be so recognized. 
That line may be at times found deeply embedded in some ol the 
mounds, one portion of the mound having been built after the 
time of the white man, and another portion before that time ; 
but the fact that there are so many relics discovered in the 
mounds which bear the traces of the touch of the white man, 
proves that the period we are erecting was an important one. If 
the white man s history is recorded in the proto-historic tokens the 
history of the Mound-builders is recorded in the prehistoric tokens 




PLATE V. COPPER IMPLEMENTS FROM WISCONSIN AND OHIO. 




^/ 



PLATE VI-MACES AND BADGES FBOM OHIO AND TENNESSEE. 




273 

which preceded them, the border line between the historic and 
the prehistoric being Indian. It may be very indefinite and 
shadowy, yet we may take the ground before hand that there was 
a Mound-builders period and what might be called a modern 
Indian period. 

3. The fact that the Indian was associated with the white 
man during a large portion of the protohistoric period, we think, 
is enough to prove that the terms " Mound-builder" and "Indian" 
are appropriate. The Mound-builder had a history which was 
unique, but the Indian, so-called, also has a history, notwith 
standing the presence of the white man. The character of 
the art which was introduced at an early date and copied by the 
aborigines and embodied in their relics was, to be sure, very 
rude compared with that which had existed earlier; but the very 
advance of the white man s art had a tendency to overshadow 
and supplant the aboriginal art. Now we have only to apply the 
term Indian to this deteriorated art, as we do Mound-builder to 
the art before it had deteriorated, and we shall at once notice a 
marked distinction between them. The Mound-builder changed 
to Indian merely by contact with the white man. Still, his art 
would be different from that of the Indian. Even if it was the 
presence of the white man that dismissed the Mound-builder s 
art and the same presence that made the Indian art what it was 
and is, still, the distinction is plain. The Mound-builders, 
technically speaking, were unacquainted with the white man, the 
Indians, as we understand them, were well acquainted with 
him. This distinction can be recognized. The natives seized 
the inventions of the civilized races and adapted them to their 
own uses, covering them with their own barbaric imagery and 
giving to them that rude shape which was the result of their 
own native cultus, but which could not hide the evidence of the 
intruded cultus of the white man. There was a symbolism 
among the native race which did not immediately pass away. 
Some of it was unconsciously mingled with the art forms which 
were introduced. The mingling of this earlier symbolism with a 
symbolism which was introduced has brought much confusion 
into the archaeology of the period. Yet this of itself constitutes 
a history, as it shows how the Mound-builder system became 
merged into the Indian. 

4. The history of this country has been written from the side 
of the white man a history of the civilized races, but the relics 
bring us into contact with the history as recorded by the "red 
man," the relics being the archives in which those records were 
kept. The Europeans who came to this continent at an early 
day were not like the Europeans of the present day, nor would 
the works of art or industry which they introduced be regarded 
as equal to those which we are accustomed to call modern in 
ventions. These rude and antiquated relics which we call proto- 



274 



historic are, however, different from the prehistoric, and so we 
we have the three records contained in the relics, the Mound- 
builders record being contained in the prehistoric, the record 
of the modern Indian and early settlers in the protohistoric,and 

the record of modern civili 
zation in the historic. 

5. The degrees of culture 
which have prevailed in pre 
historic times are brought 
out by acknowledging the 
distinction. We find that the 
prehistoric races were not 
improved by their contact 
with the white man. Their 
native art rapidly declined, 
and the borrowed art did not 
seem to improve it. The na 
tives chose only the rude 
specimens, and made these 
a substitute for the better 
specimens of their own work, 
and so took the poorest and 
left out the best. The arch 
aeologist who gathers relics 
Figs. land z.-iadinnArrou- H j s oftentimes very much 

puzzled by this means. He recognizes the native handi 
work; he also recognizes the intruded cultus; and yet the 
combination of the two presents to him a mongrel lot of relics 
which are of little 
value for the study 
of prehistoric arch 
aeology, and of still 
less value for the 
study of early his 
tory ; and yet it 
seems important 
that these relics 
should be gathered. 
The lesson is plain. 
The red man has 
declined, and the 
white man has ad 
vanced. 

6. This contrast 

, . T ,. Figs. 3 and L Indian Arrow Heads. 

between the Indian 

relics and the Mound-builders reveals the history of the lost arts. 
The reason they were lost was because of the change from the 
prehistoric to the historic period. The motive, spirit, form, execu- 





275 

tion, of prehistoric relics were all different from anything which 
can be called historic. If we would understand the lost arts we 
must go to those relics which are purely prehistoric. Changes 
may, to be sure, have occurred during prehistoric times, but 
greater changes occurred during the protohistoric. This may 
be seen by comparing the Indian relics with those which have 
come from the mounds. The Indian relics are inferior to the 
Mound-builder s. This may be owing to the incursion of savage 
hunters, who drove off the sedentary population and took pos 
session of their works, or it may be owing to the intrusion of 
white men, who came in and transformed the entire life of the 
aborigines. The history of the lost arts is contained in both 
periods. 




Fig. 5. European Portrait Pipe. 

Deterioration is strangely stamped on all the works of the red 
Indian. The hunters deteriorated in their skill as hunters. They 
abandoned their game-drives, which were built of earth and took 
to constructing temporary screens made from brush and the 
branches of trees. They exchanged the bow and arrow for the 
rifle; no longer hunted on foot, but went with their ponies, mov 
ing their villages with them. Their stone relics gradually dis 
appeared, and iron weapons which they borrowed from the white 
man took their place. The agriculture deteriorated. The large 
fields which formerly surrounded their villages were reduced to 
small patches of corn. Their garden beds, which were so reg 
ular and covered such large plats of ground, were reduced to 
mere hills of beans and squashes. The large hoes and spades 
which, as agricultural tools, are regarded as interesting works of 




276 

art, were abandoned, and the rudest kind of iron hoes were used 
in their place. The military skill deteriorated. The great forts, 
with the elaborate gateways, which had formerly protected the 
Mound-builders, were abandoned. The stockades of the Indians 
which were known to history took their place. The elaborate 

spears and arrows, maces and military 
badges soon disappeared, and were sup 
planted by iron tomahawks, leather belts, 
steel knives and tin buckles. Gunpow 
der, which was introduced from Europe, 
changed the mode of warfare. The long 
spear and the war club may have con 
tinued for a time, but they were used 
more as badges of office and as orna 
ments than as weapons of war. The 
head-dresses made of plumes of noble 

birds, such as the eagle and the hawk, 

Fig. e^-French Portrait. and which showed the ambition of the 
chiefs, were exchanged for turbans of cloth and various nonde 
script head gear. The imagery ot the native art does not improve 
by the modern semblances. If the Mound-builder became the 
Indian, the red Indian is a poor specimen of what the Mound- 
builder was, for deterioration is written over his entire form, and his 
dress, his ornaments, his weapons, his badges, his accoutrements 
and his tout ensemble furnish a mere travesty on the native 
grandeur which has passed away. We maintain that the Mound- 
buildej- was a better specimen of the Indian than the native 
Indian himself, and so we should retain the name, even if we 
granted the premises, that the Mound-builders survived the 
Indians. 

7. The difference between the Mound-builder and the Indian 
of modern days is very striking, when we 
come to compare the relics of the earlier and 
the later periods. We take the entire proto- 
historic period as indicative of the transition, 
and study the relics which belong to this 
period. We then take these with the relics 
which are purely prehistoric, and learn from 
them the cultus which prevailed during the 
prehistoric period. The comparison is very 
instructive, though there is a difficulty in 
separating the one from the other. Yet if we 
place the prehistoric on one side and the his-^ 7 
toric or protohistoric on the other, making two classes of the 
relics, we are obliged to say that the two are very distinct and 
should be designated by two distinct terms, and we know no 
better terms than those we have adopted, namely, Mound-builder 
and Indian. 




277 




II. We turn now to another point. The geographical distri 
bution of relics, proves that there was a distinction between 
the Mound-builders and the Indians. There are localities in 
which the relics are mainly those of the Indians known to his 
tory. There are other localities where the relics are mainly 
those which are supposed to have belonged to the Mound-build 
ers. This fact, we think, is a suffi 
cient reason for us to establish the 
two classes, and to call one Mound- 
builders and the other Indian rel 
ics. 

I. Let us take up the subject of 
locality. It is well known that the 
Mound-builders territory was con 
fined to the Mississippi Valley, but 
that the region east of this valley, 
especially that along the Atlantic 
coast, was occupied by a people 

Fig. S.-Grotesque Portrait. who di ff ered f rom t h e Mound- 

builders and who resembled the modern Indian. This makes 
a geographical division between the two classes. We think this 
will be acknowledged by all. The question is, however, 
whether this distinction between the two classes of people can 
be recognized in the relics found in these separate districts, 
and whether the testimony of history is confirmed by archaeol 
ogy. This is the question which we are now to consider. We 
would say, however, that there are some 
exceptions to this rule and that the excep 
tions must be considered if we would prove 
the rule. We first look at the region situ 
ated in New York and in Florida and say 
that here the Mound-builders wandered out 
of their territory toward the northeast and 
the southeast, but, nevertheless, we con 
clude that the sea coast was held by the 
Eastern Indians and not by> the Mound- 
builders. So, too, we find in the interior the 
many relics which we may suppose were 
left there by the Eastern Indians, and we 
say that these tribes must at times have 
overrun the Mound-builders territory, and 
yet we do not hesitate to ascribe the interior fig. o. Grotesque Portrait. 
to the Mound builders rather than to the Indians. This is our first 
point. The geographical lines seem to have separated the two 
races, notwithstanding the many exceptions to the rule. Our 
second point, however, is more conclusive than this. We are 
to take the relics which have been gathered in one district, the 
district which we have ascribed to the Indians, and are to com- 




278 




pare these with the relics which have been gathered in the 
Mound-builders territory, and see if these are not different enough 
for us to make two classes of them. On this point, we furnish 

evidence from two collections, and 
$^ ask the attention of our readers to 
the illustrations offered. Of course, 
it will be expected that in each col 
lection there will be more or less 
of mingling of relics, but the ques 
tion is, do not the collections show 
a marked difference, so marked, in 
deed, as to convince us that the 
art of the two districts was very 
unlike and the people also very 
unlike. 

We have received a series of cuts 
from the Canadian Institute at To 
ronto, many of them illustrative of 
relics discovered in the region sur 
rounding that city. These we con 
sider to be Indian relics, at least the 
majority of them. We propose to 
institute a comparison between 
these relics and those which have 

Fia.lO.-Mound-Buildcr* Portrait. be(m discovered j n the inte rior, CS- 

pecially in Ohio and its vicinity, which is emphatically the 
Mound-builders region, to see if there were not differences be 
tween the two districts. In drawing the 
comparison we shall, however, place the 
relics found near Toronto alongside of 
others found in Lower Canada, making 
one class. We shall also take the collec 
tion which has been described by Squier 
and Davis in the book called "Ancient 
Monuments," and compare these with 
others which have come out of the mounds 
in more recent times, and make from them 
a second class. We shall take the position 
that the frst class belongs to the Indians, 
the second to the Mound-builders. Our 
reasons for doing so will be apparent as 
we proceed. In reference to the first col 
lection, we may say that there are many 
traces of contact with white men, but it 
is almost impossible to distinguish the fig- n-Bird shaped Pipe. 
modern from the ancient. In reference to the second collection, 
there is no such trace and we must regard them as purely pre 
historic. A comparison has been drawn between the relics in 




279 




the Canadian Institute and Iroquois relics which are scattered 
throughout the State of New York, and resemblances have been 
traced. This is very natural, for the Hurons, who formerly dwelt 
in the region about Toronto, and to whom these relics probably 
belong, were akin to the Iroquois, having been originally a tribe 

of the same stock. There are 
probably some Algonquin rel 
ics in the second collection, 
as the Algonquins frequently 
visited the region. These are 
not Mound-builders relics, 
but they are exceptions and 
seem to be out of place. 

We regard many of these 
Eastern relics as modern In 
dian, and as interesting on this 
account. The region was over 
run by different tribes Hu- 

Fig. 12.-Cherry Bird Pipe. rons> Iroquois, Algonquins. 

It is a region in which the French came in contact with these tribes 
and gave to them many specimens of art, mainly weapons of war 
and industry. These were taken and used without change. But 
there were also various ornaments, and other relics, such as 
pipes, maces, badges, which the French did not introduce. These 
were the works of the natives, but they were modified and were 
covered with modern 
ornamentation, some 
of them made to imi 
tate modern European 
forms and faces ; and 
yet they are classed 
with the prehistoric 
specimens. We call 
them protohistoric; 
not that they are all 
of this character, but 
because it is impossi 
ble to distinguish the 
prehistoric from the 
historic. Ancient and 
modern forms are so 
mingled together in 
the collection that it becomes a book in which we are to read the 
record of the protohistoric period. This gives great value to the 
collection, and makes it unique. 

We may say that three periods have left their record in the col 
lections : the prehistoric, the protohistoric and the historic, and 
yet strangely the three records are very similar. This we think 




Fig. 13. Modern Pottery Bird Pipe. 



280 



proof that the Indians of this region were always different from 
the Mound-builders of the region to the west of it, the two col 
lections showing a great contrast. With reference to the Mound- 
builders region the same can not be said. If we take the locality 
where Mound-builders have prevailed, we find a great contrast 
between the earlier and the later relics, the earlier relics being 
supposed to belong to the Mound-builders, but the later relics 
to the Indians. This subject of the sequence of history has 
been referred to by other writers. To some, it seems to prove 
that there was a great difference between the races ; to others it 
seems that there was no difference whatever; but in our opinion 
the study of the relics will prove the correctness of the position 
which we have taken, the differences depend altogether upon 
the locality we are studying. 






Fig. 15. Portrait. 



Fig. 16. Glass Stopper. 



Fig. 17. Glass Stopper. 



Sir William Dawson has spoken of the village of Hochelaga. 
He gives the history of the village and an account of its discov 
ery by Jacques Cartier in the year 1534. Sometime in the 
interval between 1535 and 1642 Hochelaga was utterly destroyed 
and the encroachments of the warlike Iroquois made the island 
a sort of frontier or debatable land, on which no man lived. The 
Hochelagans were not precisely either of the Iroquois or Algon 
quin stock, but a remnant of an ancient and decaying nation, to 
which the Eries and some other tribes belonged, and which had 
historical relations originally with the now extinct Alleghans or 
Mound-builders. Dr. Dawson draws the line between the Alle 
ghans and the Hochelagans, and says that they were bounded 
on the north by the Algonquins, but thinks that there was a belt 
of semi-Alleghan and semi-Algonquin territory along the great 
lakes and the St. Lawrence, the people inhabiting which had 
borrowed some of the habits, arts and modes of life of the Alle 
ghans or Mound-builders. To this probably belong such nations 
of Agricultural and village-dwelling Indians as the Eries, the 



281 



Neutrals, the Hochelagans. This distinction is one which per 
haps will aid us in our study of the relics. We take these 
traditionary tribes and find that their relics give no trace of con 
tact with the white man. They were "Hochelagans". By 
placing them between the Indians that are known to history and 
the Mound-builders, who are unknown except by name, we may 

be able to distinguish three 
races one from another. The 
affinities of the Alleghans or 
Mound-builders have been 
studied by Sir William Daw- 
son. They have been pro 
nounced to be Toltecan. 
They resemble, however, mod 
ern Indian as much as they 
do the Toltecan races. The 

m g .18.-Trumpet Shaped Pipe. ^^ ^ ^ Alleghans Qr 

Mound-builders differ very much from the relics of the Toltecs. 
The pottery of the Hochelagans is certainly superior to that of 
the modern Indians, but it does not equal that of the "Alleghans". 
The pipes of the Hochelagans were generally earthern and have 
a peculiar shape generally trumpet shape. The Mound-build 
ers pipes were very different from these. The copper axes, 
spears, and knives of the Alleghans or Mound-builders are 
certainly very different from the stone knives of the Hochela 
gans. The badges, maces and other ornaments of the Mound- 
builders are certainly superior to any of those which are found 
near Hochelaga. 





Fig. 19. Trumpet Shaped Pipe. 

We maintain that there is a history of the Indians and the 
Mound-builders, and that this history is seen in the relics as well 
as in the portraits. Let us take the different relics for our illus 
trations. There are very many relics found upon the surface. 
The majority of these probably belong to the later Indians. There 
are also many relics found in graves. We ascribe the graves to 
the wandering tribes of Indians, some of them to tribes who 
have just disappeared. The relics found in the graves are fre- 



282 

quently mingled with historic articles, showing that the graves 
were subsequent to historic times. There are many relics found 
in bone pits, We ascribe the bone pits generally to Indians. 
The Iroquois, we know, buried in bone pits. There are relics 
found in stone cists. These stone cists or graves are widely 
scattered ; they have been generally assigned to the Shawnees ; 
we may safely say that the stone graves belonged to modern 
Indians. There are many relics found in the top of mounds. 
These are generally supposed to belong also to modern Indians. 
It is a mistake to suppose that the mounds were all built at one 
time, or that any one mound was finished with one burial ; there 
were many burials in the mounds, and each burial furnished a 
new record to the mound, several burials having been made be 
fore the final record was completed. The burial mounds along 
the Mississippi River, which have been examined by the author, 
have all of them contained several burials. The bones and the 





Fig. 20. Trumpet Pipe. Fig. Zl.Tube Pipe. 

relics contained in these mounds were evidently deposited at 
different periods and belonged to different tribes of Indians. 
There is a history of the country contained in the mounds, the 
history of the tribes which formerly inhabited the country. The 
author imagines he has discovered the bones of several different 
tribes of Indians Sacs and Foxes, Illinois, and Dakotas, all of 
them tribes whose names are known to history, Hie original 
Mound-builders bones were, however, lower down than any of 
these burials, and the bones found in this lowest layer have 
seemed to be different from those found in the upper layer. In 
some cases the upper layer belonged to the historic period, the 
lower layer belonged to the prehistoric. The difference in the 
bones and relics of the prehistoric and historic periods would 
seem to indicate that the Mound-builders and the Indians belonged 
to different races. 

III. The character of the relics in the different districts may 
well be considered. 

First, the material. In the Montreal district a large majority 
are made of pottery. In Ohio the pipes are mainly of steatite. 
There are very few pottery pipes in the Mound-builders collec 
tion. In the Davenport district, pipes are mainly of steatite or 
of catlinite, and in this respect the Davenport collection resem 
bles the Ohio much more than it does the Montreal district. 



The modern semblances are recognized in the portrait pipes 
more than in any other. We find them, however, in the Toronto 
collection. We call attention to the modern European laces in 
the New York pipes. Some of these faces resemble French, 
Spanish, some English types (Figs. 5, 6), though it is a question 
whether this was intended. In two of the cuts the Indian faces 
may be recognized. In the relics from the mounds of Ohio 
there are no modern portraits, at least no portraits of the white 
man, though the Mound-builder s face in one may be said to 
resemble the Dakota Indians and in the other the face of a 
Shawnee. This would indicate that the Mound-builder tribes 
may have been followed by modern tribes, the features of original 
races having been perpetuated even to the present day. If we 
grant this, we must acknowledge that they were different tribes 
from the Eastern Indians. See Fig. 10. 





Fig. 22. Tube Pipe. Fig. 23. Flat Pipe. 

The grotesque qualities which are found in the modern Indian 
are noticeable. Very few such grotesque images are found in 
the Mound-builders relics. The sportive element was evidently 
in the ascendency when these pipes were made. The artist took 
a nodule of stone, and, finding a resemblance to a face in it, he 
turned it into a grotesque image. In one case he used the 
mouth as the bowl of the pipe, filled it with tobacco, and smoked 
it out of the back of the head. See Fig. 8. In another case he 
made a caricature of the eye (see Fig. 9), and used the pipe with 
its comic features out of mere wantonness or sport. A third 
pipe had its portrait toward the smoker (see Fig. 5), but its 
semblance can not be easily recognized. It may have been 
either a native American or European. The square form of one 
pipe would indicate that it was a modern product. The spike 
in the center of the pipe would suggest the phallic symbol, but 
in a modern pipe would be without significance. The grotesque 
pipes have been described by Mr. E. A. Barber. The most of 
these are modern Indian, New York State being the source of the 
majority of them. 

Two more portrait pipes are given. One is a pottery pipe, 
with a face resembling a white man s. Another is a carved 
specimen, and looks like a Chinese with a turban. This last 
was from a piece of limestone, and is almost black. The head- 



284 



dress is quite unlike any Indian. The specimen is as beautiful 
as it is remarkable, so says the curator. See Fig. 7. 

2. We take up the animal pipes. The contrast here is very 
marked. We find that the Mound-builders were very skillful in 
imitating the shape of animals. The collection which is now in 

the Blackmore Museum of 
England has many pipes rep 
resenting animals. These 
pipes are well wrought, and 
contain excellent imitations 
of the animal figures. The 
habits of the animals are 
brought out as well as the 
shapes. The Davenport col 
lection has many animal- 
shaped pipes. The animals 
represented in the Mound- 
builders relics are, some of 
them, extralimital, toucans, 

%k.-Fiat Pipe, manitees, showing that they 

were familiar with birds and animals found only in Mexico and 
the Gulf States. The majority of the animals are those which were 
common in the valley of the Ohio and Mississippi turtle, frog, 
toad, otter, lynx, bear, beaver, hawk, cherry bird, wood-pecker, 





Fig. 25. Flat Pipe. 

duck, swallow, heron, fish-hawk, rabbit, wild cat, squirrel, owl, 
alligator. The pipes from New York and Ontario are, some of 
them, imitative of animals, but they are generally poor imitations. 
We have three imitative relics before us. It is almost impossi 
ble to recognize the creature represented. In one case we have 




PLATE VIII-RELEC3 FROM THE STONE GRAVES. 



285 

the short bill of the bird, in the other we have the tail of the 
bird and a rude imitation of the bill. In the third we have the 
neck, head and eye of the bird, but a poor imitation of both. 
This last is a pottery pipe, and is very rude. See Figs. 1 1 and 
13. They show the imitative skill of the Indians of this region. 
The wood-pecker and the cherry bird, which are from the 
mounds of Ohio, will show the contrast. See Fig. 12. It is 
evident that the Mound-builder s skill was much greater than 
that of the Canada Indians. 




Fig. 26. Brooding Ornament. 

3. The shape of the pipes is next to be considered, There are 
various shaped pipes, which may be recognized as modern by 
the shape. As a general thing, a pipe which has straight sides, 
sharp angles, looking as if they were sawed, like the one given 
in Fig. 5, will be regarded as a modern pipe. There are many 
such pipes throughout the country. Some of them have panels, 
and some have plain sides. Squier and Davis have described a 
few, but they were pipes which were known to belong to certain 
historic Indians. The pipe of Keokuk is depicted in this book. 
Mr. E. A. Barber has described other pipes from Lake Superior, 
and Mr, Catlin has described many others. These were the 
pipes of Mandan chiefs. All of them had straight sides and a 
bowl at one end; the material was catlinite. A pipe which has 




Fig. % 7. Brooding Ornament. 

the shape of a glass stopper seems to be common. Figs. 16, 17. 
These are evidently modern, and have the appearance of having 
been turned in a lathe, as the bands are all parallel, and the bowl is 
divided into different parts. No such pipe was ever found among 
genuine Mound-builders relics. It can not be called a prehis 
toric specimen. 

The trumpet-shaped pipe: This is a shape which may be 



286 




either modern or ancient. We present two specimens from the 
collection. See Figs. 18 and 19. The first has ornaments and 
bands on it, and was evidently made by some Indian. The shape 
of the pipe was, however, so much like the common clay pipe 
of the white man that we place it among the modern semblances. 
A pipe from a mound in Sullivan County, Tennessee, has, how 
ever, been described by Dr. Cyrus Thomas, which has a bowl 
like this one from Ontario, hut its stem has flanges or wings on 

either side, making it re 
semble both the Mound- 
builder s pipe and the 
white man s pipe. This 
was discovered in the 
midst of the stone heaps 
which have been ascribed 

^.-saddle shaped stone. to the Cherokees, and 

was undoubtedly a Cherokee pipe; possibly was made after the 
advent of the white man. Mr. A. E. Douglass has also described 
a trumpet-shaped pipe from Mexico, though it is uncertain 
whether it is prehistoric or historic. The trumpet-shaped pipe 
which is next given is perhaps typical of these. See Fig. 1 8. 
Sir William Dawson has described a number of these. He says 
that the highest skill of the Hochelaga potters was bestowed on 
their tobacco pipes. They possessed pipes of steatite or soap- 
stone, but none of elaborate form have been found. One 
example of a trumpet pipe, made of catlinite, is given. See Fig. 
19. A great number of fragments of clay pipes bearing the 
trumpet shape show that this was a common form. See Fig. 20. 
It will be noticed that the 
pipe has the shape of a wa r 
club, the bowl constituting 
the head of the club, the 
stem the handle. Two 
tube pipes are represented. 
They were probably the 
pipes of Indians and not of 
Mound-builders. See Figs. 
2 1 and 22. Another shape 
is very common among 
the Indians. It is a pipe 
which has a flat platform as a substitute for a bowl, the orifice of 
the pipe being in the center of the plate. Such a pipe as this 
was regarded in a measure as sacred. See Figs. 23, 24 and 25. 
The tobacco was placed upon the flat surface, lighted, and the 
pipe was passed around the circle, for the warriors or council 
men to blow the smoke out, as a sign of good faith and worship. 
Such pipes belong to the modern Indians, either to the Algon- 
quins or the Iroquois. They are quite widely distributed. We 




Fig. 29. Indian Mace. 



287 




Fig. 30, Indian Mace. 



have seen one in the collection at Potosi, Wisconsin. Catlin has 
pictured one in his book on the Mandan Indians and the Smith 
sonian Reports speak of other pipes of a similar shape. 

We have dwelt upon the description of these relics for the 
reason that they are supposed to have been typical specimens. 
The execution of the cuts is, to be sure, somewhat imperfect, 

and yet the shape 
of the relics will be 
easily seen from 
them. We take the 
position that the 
collection as a 
whole illustrates 
the peculiarities ot 
the Indian art, pe 
culiarities which 
are not ^recognized 
in the Mound- 
builders art. These peculiarities seem to have been derived from 
prehistoric times, and to indicate that the Indians of this region 
at least were always different, or, at least, had different types ot 
art, from the Mound-builders. Certainly, so far as the relics can 
show it, we should say that there was a wide difference between 
the two classes of people, and that this difference existed in pre 
historic times as well as in historic. We might here draw upon 
history to show the same fact. It is well known that the region 

we have been describing, and from 

which these relics were gathered, 
was the one which was first occu 
pied by the white man. It is the 
region in which the protohistoric 
period was most prolonged. There 
have been, to be sure, a few other 
localities in which this period was 
equally protracted, but in none was 
it likely that so many protohistoric 
relics would be left as here. 

4. There are certain relics which 
seem to have been widely distrib 
uted, but they are at the same time 
regarded as Mound-builders rel 
ics, for they are sometimes found 
the finish which characterizes the Mound-builders art. We 
refer to the saddle-shaped specimens. These are sometimes 
called brooding ornaments, as the supposition is that they rep 
resented birds as brooding, and at the same time were worn as 
signs of maternity. There is one thing to favor this view of the 
relics. The head-dress of the Egyptian goddess Neith, who was 




Fig. 31. Mound-Builder s Mace. 

in mounds and have all of 



288 



the goddess of maternity, was in the shape of a vulture, the 
wings resting down over the ears, but the head and tail project 
ing above the head, forming a sort of crown. It is possible that 
the bird ornament, or brooding ornament, as it is called, was used 
in the same way. There are portrait pipes which have horns 
projecting above the head, drapery thrown over the horns and 
falling down at the side of the head. The question is whether 
the horns which furnish the support for the drapery were not 
formed by a brooding ornament, the head and tail of the bird pro 
jecting above the head upward, the body of the bird forming the 
support for the drapery. This may have been one use, Another 
way of wearing the ornament would be to fasten it on the top 
of the head, making projections over at the side, as well as 
above the head, a cord passing around under the chin and over 

the head. Another 
Way of wearing the 
ornament would|be 
to place it on top 
of the head, where 
it would make a 
single horn, the 
three ways of wear 
ing the ornament 
requiring three dif 
ferent shapes. As 
an argument in fa 
vor of this view, 
we would mention 

Fig. ^.-Monitor Pipe, Indian. faz fact that brood- 

ing ornaments have three shapes, one being in the shape of a sad 
dle, with two projections, but with no bird shape in it ; a second 
would be the bird-shaped ornament, the length and the size 
varying 1 according to circumstances, but with tail and head both 
elevated, making two horns; the third case is an imitation of the 
bird, but the head alone is elevated, making a single horn instead 
of a double one. We give the following cuts to illustrate these 
points. We have the bird-shaped amulet in Figs. 24, 25, 26; 
we have the portraits which show the possible use of these orna 
ments in Figs. 27, 28, 29. The three shapes of the brooding 
ornaments are given in the cuts, and the three ways of wearing 
them can be seen in the portrait pipes. As an additional argu 
ment, we would refer to the method of wearing the hair which 
was common among the Pueblo women. There is a roll above 
or over the ears, which resembles the projections at the side of 
the bird s head, and at the same time resembles the spool orna 
ments which are so common in the mounds. These spool 
ornaments are remarkable relics. There was evidently a sym 
bolism about them, a symbolism which was very widespread. We 




289 

take the spool ornaments, the brooding ornament, and compare 
them with the Egyptian head-dress. We then take the Pueblo 
manner of wearing the hair, and the various pictures, and place 
them together, and ask whether there was not a symbolism in all 
this, a symbolism which possibly had a common source in some 
historic ancestry. This explanation may not be accepted by all. A 
few bird amulets have been found which in shape contradict it. 
There is a bird amulet in the possession of Mr. L. O. Bliss, of 
Iowa Falls. It consisted originally of three pieces, the top piece 
being in the shape of a duck with a flat back, the middle piece 
being a mere flat tablet, resembling the perforated tablets, the 
lower piece being boat-shaped, resembling the boat-shaped relics 
which are so common. The explanation of this remarkable 
relic is that a duck was placed upon the boat-shaped relic, and 




Fig. 33. Monitor Pipe, Indian. 

could be rocked in a way to resemble the floating of a duck on 
the water. The relic, remarkable as it is, does not in reality 
contradict the explanation which we have given. The duck 
might be taken as a symbol of maternity; it is a very common 
symbol, not only among the Indians and Mound-builders, but 
among the Peruvians. It would seem as if this idea of repre 
senting maternity by the brooding ornament or bird-shaped 
head-dress was very widespread. 

The question arises whether these were Mound-builders or 
Indian relics. In answer to this we would suggest that if they 
were Mound-builders they are very interesting specimens, since 
those which are undoubtedly Indian are much ruder than those 
which were Mound-builders . We call attention to the brooding 
ornaments from the Canadian Institute at Toronto as compared 
with the ornaments in the Blackmore Museum, described by 
E. G. Squier in "Ancient Monuments."* Still, we would say 

*Page239. 



290 

that Dr. C. C. Abbott has mentioned the prevalence of these 
brooding ornaments in New Jersey, found on the sites of the 
ancient Indian villages in New Jersey. f Mr. Henry Oilman 
also says of these bird-shaped stones: "I have learned through 
an aged Indian that in olden times these ornaments were worn 
on the heads of the Indian women, but only after marriage; the 
figure of a brooding bird was a familiar sight to the children of 
the forest." Dr. Edward Sterling, of Cleveland, says: "Such 
bird effigies made of wood have been noticed among the Ottawas 
of Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan, fastened on the top of the 
head of the women as an indication of maternity." Wm. Penn 
says : "When the young women are fit for marriage, they wear 
something on their heads for an advertisement, so that their 
faces are hardly to be seen, except when they please." Dr. Ab 
bott speaks of one bird-shaped stone found in Vermont, another 
found near Trenton, New Jersey, another in Cumberland County, 
New Jersey. This was intended to represent a diver or duck 
with a long neck. A very beautiful specimen was recently dis- 




Fig. S!t. Monitor Pipe, Indian. 

covered by Mr. Thompson in Michigan. After considering the 
great number of these relics, and the fact that they are found 
upon the surface, we should say that they belong to the modern 
Indian rather than to the Mound-builder. 

5. The next class of relics about which there might be a 
contention as to whether they were Mound-builders or Indians, 
is that class which might be called maces or banner stones. 
These are perforated, and have flanges or wings, but vary in 
shape, size and finish. They are very widely distributed. Some 
of them are found in Canada, others in Florida. In fact, they 
are common all over the Mound-builders district. It would 
seem as if some of them were made by modern Indians, but that 
in making them they only perpetuated a native symbol, or en 
sign of office, without preserving the skill which formerly had 
been exercised in finishing them, We call attention to the spec 
imens which are furnished by the Canadian Institute as compared 

fSee Abbott s Primitive Industry, pp. 372-374. 



291 

with those described by Mr. A. E. Douglass. It will be seen 
that the Toronto specimens are much ruder than the Florida 
specimens. The contrast might possibly be owing partly to the 
engraver, but not altogether. Of one of the specimens furnished 
by the Toronto Institute, Mr. Boyle says: "It is an unfinished 
specimen and is valuable chiefly as another proof that the Indians 
did not perforate their work until it was almost or wholly fin 
ished. This specimen eame from Kentucky. Other unfinished 
specimens have been described by Col. Charles Whittlesey. They 
were specimens from Ohio. Many broken specimens have been 
found in various parts of the country. One is in possession of 
the writer. It came from the region of the effigy mounds. It 
had been perforated in such a way as to show that it had been 
carried as a charm by some Indian, who was perhaps unconscious 
that it had been once used as an emblem of honor or as a badge 
or mace. These rel 
ics have evidently 
come down to us 
through the hands of 
modern Indians from 
the Mound-builders 
period. They illus 
trate very clearly the 
point which we have 
in mind. The Mound- 
builders period was 
distinguished for the 
superiority of the 
native art. The 
modern period is dis 
tinguished for the Fig.35. Monitor Pipe, Mound-Builder s. 

decline of the native art. We may call the Mound-builders 
Indians, but the difference between the specimens of art which 
have come down to us from the Mound-builders and those which 
have been found in the hands of modern Indians prove the posi 
tion which we have taken. The term "Mound-builders" is an 
appropriate one, for it suggests a stage of art which was much 
superior in prehistoric times to that stage which is exhibited by 
the historic or protohistoric times. One of two things is proved 
by them. Either the hunter Indians who have come in and 
taken the place of the preceding tribes were a much ruder class 
of people than those whom we call Mound-builders, or the 
Mound-builders have very much degenerated and are not prop 
erly represented by their descendants, whom we call modern 
Indians. This is all that we care to substantiate. We think that 
the difference between the modern Indians and the Mound-build 
ers is plainly exhibited. We do not claim for the Mound- 
builders any high degree of civilization, nor do we claim for them 




292 

any radical race distinction, but we claim for them a superiority 
in all that constitutes aboriginal art, and so maintain that the 
term Mound-builder is to be continued. 

6. We now come to the monitor pipe. The difference between 
the Indian and the Mound-builders relics will be more fully 
seen in these than in any other. We furnish several specimens 
of the pipes (see Figs. 32, 33, 34, 35), which may be said to be 
imitations or attempts at the monitor pipe, from the Canadian 
collection. It will be noticed that they are exceedingly rude. 
The peculiarity of the monitor pipe is that it is composed of one 
single stone, and was smoked without the addition of a stem; it 
was a simple specimen, and is contrasted with the compound 
specimens which were common among the Indians. The advan 
tage of having a simple pipe was that it was easily placed in the 
medicine bag, where it was out of the way and yet was conve 
niently present. There was a sacredness about the pipe which 
made it important to preserve it. The pipes of the modern 
Indians do not seem to have had the same sacredness; they were 
commonly carried suspended to the belt, and were often in plain 
sight. The pipes of the Eastern Indians seem to have been, 
manp of them, simple specimens that is, simple as contrasted 
with compound ones. They were, however, in great contrast 
with the Mound-builders pipes, in that they were exceedingly 
rude. It is possible that some of these specimens are unfinished ; 
that in course of time they would have been moulded into sym 
metrical shapes, and yet one of them seems to have been designed 
for the insertion of a stem, and so would be called compound; it 
was probably Indian We present one specimen of the Mound- 
builders pipe, to show the contrast. It is a portrait pipe, but has 
the typical monitor shape, the main difference being that the 
bowl is in the shape of a human head instead of a rimmed cyl 
inder. Monitor pipes were very common among the Mound- 
builders, especially among the Mound-builders of Ohio. They 
are found in many parts of Illinois, and are numerous in the 
vicinity of Davenport, Iowa, though the characteristic pipe of 
that regian is animal shaped. 

This closes the review. We think enough contrast between 
the Indian and the Mound-builders relics has been shown to 
convince any one that two classes of people dwelt upon the con 
tinent, which were different enough in their art products for us 
to give to them different names, and so we cling to the terms 
Mound-builders and Indian. 




THE GKEST TABLET FKOM OHIO. 



293 



CHAPTER XV. 



SYMBOLISM AMONG THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

The study of symbolism in America always brings up a great 
many enquiries, but none more interesting than one which has 
relation to a contact with Europe in prehistoric times. This is, 
to be sure, a point which is constantly arising in connection with 
all departments of archaeology, but in this conuection it is 
especially suggestive. We therefore propose to speak of the 
phallic symbol as it is found in this country, especially among 
the Mound-builders, and to see if this does not prove a pre- 
Columbian contact with other countries. We shall not, how 
ever, confine ourselves to this one symbol, but shall take it in its 
combination with other symbols, such as the symbol of fire, of 
the sun, of the serpent, and other nature powers. 

The description of the dolmens and menhirs of Western 
Europe, which was given a year or two ago by Mr. Thomas Wil 
son, and now againby Prof. A. S. Pakacrd, has brought up the 
subject afresh. The same is also the result of reading about 
the remarkable find on the Illinois River. The question is how 
came the custom of making offerings to fire and^water, and other 
customs in America ? Shall we say that the Druids were here 
during pre-Columbian times, or shall we go farther back and 
ascribe them to an Asiatic source ? 

I. We begin with the cup stones or perforated symbols. It 
forms one of the standing problems for American archaeologists 
how to account for these. These cavities have been studied by 
various parties and have been found in many and widely sep 
arated countries. It is because of this extensive distribution 
that they have been regarded as important. The argument is 
that the prevalence of them in America proves European con 
tact in prehistoric times. The argument is a good one, provided 
we assign to the cavities a sacred character, and recognize them 
as the symbols of a widespread faith. This is, however, the 
point. We imagine that if they were not so widely distributed 
the thought of their symbol character would never have arisen. 
The shape of the holes suggests a very simple cause, nothing 
more nor less than the nut-cracking, which was a natural thing 
for the natives of this country. The discovery of so many 
boulders and slabs, filled with these cavities, in Southern Ohio, 
which is a forest region abounding with all kinds of nuts, natur 
ally suggests that this was the source of the cavities. Perhaps 
we should say that the question is a faux pas. It suggests a 
mystery when no mystery exists. Still, as various authors_have 



294 

written upon the subject and European archaeologists, as well as 
American, have regarded them as symbolic, we take up the 
subject in all candor. It is noticeable that the matter-of-fact and 
careful Dr. Charles Rau thought it worth his while to write a 
book about them, and to recount all the places where such holes 
have ever been seen. From this book we learn that they are 
scattered over the continent of America, being very common in 
the Mound-builders territory. A few specimens are found in 
the region of the Pueblos and on the rocks of California, and 
one specimen has been discovered near Orizaba, Mexico. They 
are also numerous in France, Brittany, Ireland, Switzerland, 
Saxony, Sweden, Scandinavia, though in these latter countries 
they are attended with rings and loops and various grooves and 
channels, as if a special use had been made of them and strange 
superstitions had been associated with them, making them sacred 
symbols. We learn, too, that the same works are numerous in 
India, and that in that country, where everything seems to have 
a symbolic character, they are regarded with peculiar veneration, 
and that even phallic worship has been associated with them and 
the symbol of the Mahedeo is always recognized in them. 

Now the point which we make is this, if we must associate so 
great a significance with so simple an object as a cavity, which 
seems to have been used for nut-cracking, then we shall conclude 
that the evidences of contact with older countries during prehis 
toric times are very common. We can imagine the practice to 
have prevailed among a rude people of making a very common 
thing to seem uncommon. The very tools and weapons and 
ornaments which they had might become the embodiment of 
strange superstitions, and even feathers and sticks might be ex 
pressive. Perhaps there was the addition of a myth or of a 
transmitted custom, and this would account for the unusual 
shapes and combinations by which these cavities are sometimes 
characterized. Still there are figures on the Bald Friar s Rock, 
in Pennsylvania which resemble serpents, the eyes being cup 
cavities or perforations, the heads only being visible. In these 
heads we recognize the jew s-harp pattern, and so we have in 
America, as in India, not only serpent worship but possibly the 
phallic symbol, with all of its conventionalities. We are not 
disposed to minimize the significance of these symbols, and yet we 
should make a distinction between a practical and a symbolic use. 

We find that the symbols are quite widely distributed in 
America, as widely as they are in Europe, and are sometimes 
found connected with the cremation of the bodies of the dead, as 
they are in foreign lands, and are also associated with altar 
mounds. It is also noticeable that animal figures, human faces 
and forms, and sun symbols, as well as serpent heads, are 
associated with the perforated cavities. Dr. Charles Rau has 
referred to the bird symbol found in the San Pete Valley of 



295 

Utah and the peculiar figures found among the rock paintings in 
Lake County, Oregon, and to the human and animal figures on 
the sculptured boulders in Arizona. These may all have been 
symbolic, and it is possible that a common symbolism has spread 
over this entire continent, either from the east or west, and that 
the connection may be traced even as far away as India. Still 
we think that a distinction should be drawn, and that the Ameri 
can symbols should be left to themselves until it can be proved 
that they were transmitted from other lands, 

The positions of these cup marks are, to be sure, sometimes 
significant, and the association with various pictures is sugges 
tive. For instance, there is a picture of a Scandinavian boat 
which reminds us of the Norse sea-kings, and a picture of battle 
axes and a pyramidal stele in the Kivik monument in Scania, 
Sweden. So there are many cup cavities in the roofs of dolmens 
in France, and Prof. A. S. Packard has declared that these must 
be symbolic. So there are peculiar figures resembling Runic 
letters on the Bald Friar s Rock in this country. There are re 
markable coincidences also in the shapes of the rings surround 
ing the cavities which are found in Denmark and Sweden and in 
this country. Some would make them symbols of the sun, and 
would prove a contact with European nations or else a remarka 
ble parallel development. Some would also consider the Dighton 
Rock as still more conclusive, but this rock Dr. Rau is especially 
skeptical about, taking the position that it was only fabricated 
by ordinary Indians. It seems to make a complication with our 
system if there are resemblances to Old World forms in America. 
Which shall we do? Shall we take the simple facts and be satisfied 
with these, or shall we recognize evidence of foreign contact in 
them ? We have seen these perforations on various stones, but 
have not recognized anything symbolic in either the shapes or 
locations or relative positions of the holes. At onetime we dis 
covered a small stone slab, burned and smoked, near the altar of 
the celebrated alligator effigy in Ohio, the proximity suggesting 
that it was once on the altar. This was perforated with a cup 
cavity, and may have been designed as a symbol. Still other 
stones, with similar cup-shaped cavities, are found in many 
places. We saw one on the banks of the Ohio at the steamboat 
landing at Maysville, Ky., a place which was not suggestive of 
anything sacred. We also at one time examined the great 
boulder which was taken from the bank of the Ohio near Iron- 
ton, and given by Dr. H. H. Hill to the Natural History Society 
of Cincinnati, and were told that there were one hundred and 
sixteen of these perforations on this single boulder. Similar 
stones have been found in Summit County, O., at Portsmouth and 
Graveport,O.,and at various places in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, 
and the impression is that they were used for nut-cracking. 

The boulder at Cincinnati has certain grooves on its surface, 





m/ 

W ITT 



296 

four or five inches long, which have the appearance of being 
worn by continuous rubbing. But about these we enquire, in 
what respect do they differ Irom the marks made by arrow sharp 
ening, which are so common throughout the country. Beau- 
champ has described such works as being common in New York 
and Gen. Thruston in his new book has spoken of others in 
Tennessee, and has given a cut representing the same, but they 
seem very simple things, and we do not see that any symbolism 
can possibly be made out of them. 

Col. Charles Whittlesy thought that the perforations were 
made by spindles, and that they were evidences of the domestic 
art of spinning and weaving. Others have taken the ground 
that some of them were used for paint cups, especially as pestle 
and mortars have been found in New Mexico with the cup mark 
in the pestle. The explanation is that the paint, which had been 
ground, was placed in the cavity while the process of grinding 
other paint went on. How could symbolic significance come to 
such simple objects? We suggest the following: It is possible 
that the women, who so frequently have left the marks of their 
handiwork, may have used the cavities as signs, giving them the 
hidden significance which would be expressive oi certain sexual 
desires. We are aware that the bird amulets and other objects ol 
personal decoration were symbols of maternity with the aborigines. 
The spool ornament was also made symbolic of some more 
spiritual desire, and the axe, especially when made of jade, was 
symbolic of the immortality of the soul, superstition requiring 
that bits of jade should be placed in the mouth of the dead. It 
is a practice with women in India to take water out of the Ganges 
and pour over the cavities and the channels surrounding them, 
as they believe maternity will be the result. Another explanation 
is that they were sockets where they placed the end of the fire 
generator, and so came to consider the cavities as sacred to fire 
and having a peculiar significance. If they are, then we should 
say that they form only another link in the chain connecting this 
country with the far east, proving not only that serpent worship, 
but phallic worship and fire worship and sun worship were all 
connected and prevailed on this continent in prehistoric times. 

II. This point has been impressed upon us by recent discoveries. 
We now refer to the discovery which we made in connection 
with the great serpent effigy near Quincy, Illinois. This serpent 
is a massive effigy, which conforms to the bluff throughout its 
entire length. Its folds are brought out very forcibly by four 
conical burial mounds located near the center of the ridge, mid 
way between the head and tail of the serpent. The mounds 
contained many bodies, none of them remarkable except the one 
which was cremated at the base of the mound. This was a large 
body. It was lying on its back, and was partially burned. The 
bones, however, were preserved, and what was the most singular 



297 

about the case, on the very center of the body, near the secret 
parts, a skeleton of a serpent was found coiled up, as if there 
was an intention to make it significant. The hands were folded 
over the body just below this skeleton. The body had its feet 
to the east, and its face was turned upward, as if to look toward 
the sun. Thus we have in this cremation scene both the phallic 
symbolic and the serpent effigy, and we have at the same time 
some evidence of sun worship. But there was another feature 
still more remarkable. It was noticed that there were several 
bodies lying parallel with the central one, and that these bodies 
had been burned. The fire-bed was about twelve feet across, and 
contained the remains of at least four bodies, all of them par 
tially burned, all of them cremated and apparently with the faces 
looking upward. There were also skeletons of snakes found 
with the bodies, though the position of the snakes was not closely 
observed. Now the point that we make is, if there was phallic 
worship at all, it was also attended with the eastern custom of 
suttee burning. We learn from the early explorers that at the 
south the fashion was to kill the slaves and wife of a chief when 
he died and to burn the bodies with the body of the chief. If 
this was the case among the southern tribes, it may also have 
been the fashion with this northern tribe. These, we think, are 
important facts. While everything in this Quincy find was 
very rude no relics, no paved altar, no elaborate contrivance 
further than the effigy itself still the cremation was remarka 
ble. We acknowledge that there are many things in connection 
with all the Mound-builders burials which are of purely native 
origin. Yet if the phallic symbol is to be seen in one case it is 
also in many, and, what is more, it is also almost always con 
nected with the serpent symbol. 

It is strange that here in America native superstition seized 
upon the most familiar objects, such as arrow-heads, spear-heads, 
leaf-shaped implements, pieces of mica, or even pebbles and 
round stones, and made of these altars which should be symbolic 
of sun worship; but it is stranger still that native superstition 
should at times give evidence of contact with the more advanced 
fashions and customs of countries which have long been historic 
and that the two systems of symbols should be so near to one 
another. The find at Virginia City, in Illinois, reminds us of 
similar deposits in Ohio. It was a simple altar or artificial heap 
formed out ot leaf-shaped relics, the specimens all having come 
probably from Flint Ridge, but here were used as the resting 
place of the dead. There was, however, a mica cresent on the 
breast and copper spools near the head and stone weapons near 
the hands. Everything about the find showed a very rude state 
of art, and yet showed a strange and conventional symbolism. 
The same is true also of the various altar and burial mounds of 
Ohio. Here in one place were altars composed of similar flint 



298 

relics, chipped into leaf-shape, and deposited in two layers, one 
above the other, the entire heap having been used as a platform 
on which immense numbers of relics had been placed, but no 
other relics. In another place, at Mound City, mica plates are 
laid like scales, one against the other, the whole deposit having 
made a remarkable crescent, which might be supposed to have 
glistened with the silvery radiance of the moon. This crescent 
was situated at the bottom of the largest mound in the group 
found at Mound City, and was itself placed above a layer of clay, 
four layers above it composed of sand, the whole being very 
hard and compact. The mound itself was 17 feet high and go 
feet in diameter, and overtopped all the rest. The symbolism 
consisted in the crescent, which was 19 down and 19 feet across 
from horn to horn, the greatest width being about 5 feet. 

Still the two altars the one formed of leaf-shaped implements 
and the other containing the crescent were very large, and it 
is supposed that both deposits were equally sacred among this 
mysterious people. In the Ohio mounds were other altars, on 
which many valuable relics had been placed. At the fort on the 
north fork of Paint Creek, where the leaf-shaped flints were 
placed, a large number of pipes had been offered, and among the 
pipes were some in the shape of serpents, the very symbol of the 
Mahedeo being suggested by one of them. This coiled snake 
may indeed have been a mere mythologic object, embodying one 
of the myths which have survived to modern times. Still the 
presence of the serpent effigy with the other features would 
indicate that phallic worship had been observed. The clay was at 
the bottom of these altars, and sand layers above just as clay 
was beneath the flint deposit in Illinois. So there was a fire-bed 
of black soil beneath the cremated bodies and white soil above, 
the evidence of a studied design given in both cases. There 
are, to be sure, no two altars alike and no conventional or stere 
otyped mode of burial in the mounds, yet with the variety the 
uniformity is apparent, the uniformity being always confined to 
the symbol, but the diversity coming out in the mode of burial 
and the articles deposited. This is also one of the strange fea 
tures of the Mound-builders religion. They seem to have been 
saturated with superstition. It was almost childish in its sim 
plicity, for it seized upon the most trifling things to express 
itself; it was also held under the control of a fixed and formal 
symbolism, which constantly reminds one of foreign customs. 
Stately ceremonies resembling those of Druidic worship were 
associated with the trifling details of a savage people. The in 
ference is that human sacrifices were made, and that burials of 
an extraordinary character were practiced in certain cases, but 
in other cases the commonest things seem to have been laid 
away as if with all the care of the most sacred treasure. We 
are puzzled by these deposits, and yet we recognize a strange 



299 

symbolism in them all. The great serpent in Ohio is only such 
an effigy as perhaps any superstitious savage might possibly de 
vise; nothing conventional or foreign about its shape, but when 
we come to the oval and the altar in the oval, we are at once 
reminded of the phallic symbol and the offering to the fire divin 
ity of the east. So, too, the serpent effigy in Illinois seems like 
a very rude semblance of a massive snake. Its shape conforms 
to the bluff in every part. It seems only an effigy, but when we 
compare its double bend to the curve of the Hindu fire generator 
and to count the number four in the mounds on its summit, and 
see the contents as they are, it seems as if the same latent sym 
bolism was strangely present, and so it is everywhere. Superstition 
degenerated or advanced, one of the two. Symbolism, too, was 
either gradually lost, being merged into the totem system of the 
hunter races, or it grew up under the same races and became-a 
complicated system, very like the sun symbols of other countries. 
The resemblance may have been accidental, but the impression 
is growing that the symbolism was not a native growth, but was 
introduced from some other land. 

III. It is to be remembered that cremation was in Europe dis 
tinctive of the bronze age, and was comparatively unknown in the 
neolithic age. We are also to remember that the phallic symbol 
was very common during that age, so common that many think 
it was introduced into the north of Europe by the Phoenicians, 
who took long voyages for the sake of finding tin. The Druids 
also are supposed to have cremated bodies, and to them have 
been ascribed the horse-shoe symbols which are still recognized 
in those celebrated temples formed from standing stones. With 
the Druids, fire worship, sun worship, serpent worship and phal 
lic worship formed a complicated system, which stamped itself 
upon the megalithic monuments of the land. The discovery of 
these various forms of superstition in the American continent 
suggests to us the possibility of a transmission of the same com 
plicated cultus to the western coasts of the great sea. This is 
an important fact. Was it owing to the extension of the Phce 
nician voyages or to the zeal of Druidic priests that these things 
were introduced? The contact seemed to have produced a mar 
vellous effect. It was not a decline from the bronze age which 
we see in these familiar symbols, but the effect of contact with 
European voyagers in pre-Columbian times, pre-Columbian dis 
covery in fact. The conclusion is startling, but this is the only 
way that we can account for the marvellous resemblances. Cer 
tainly no ordinary nature worship could produce a cultus which 
would combine all the elements of the eastern faiths Druidic, 
Phoenician, Hittite, all in one, nor could the law of growth ac 
count for the details as they are seen. Parallel development 
might indeed result in the prevalence of animal worship among 
the hunter races, of sun worship among the agricultural races, 



300 

possibly of serpent worship; but when all of these are combined 
and made expressive of a strange esoteric system, with the mys 
tic significance of the sun symbol as the source of life, we are 
led to say that something else must be brought in to account for 
the phenomena. Phallic worship is not a simple cult which 
might be introduced anywhere, nor is it to be expected that the 
worship of fire, or of the sun, or the serpent, would all come from 
natural causes. There might be a decline from a previous ad 
vanced condition. The bronze age might sink back into the stone 
age. The absence of tin might result in the substitution of cop 
per for the bronze, and the change go on until savage hunters are 
seen carrying about with them strange reminders of their pre 
vious condition; but we cannot see how the process of growth 
could bring together on the American tree the varied fruit of the 
eastern climes or place its many symbols in these western lands. 
The custom of keeping alive the sacred fire was common among 
the southern tribes. With them the sun was the great divinity. 
Idolatry, of a primitive kind, also prevailed among them. They 
built pyramids of earth, and placed their idols in niches on the 
sides of those pyramids, with their faces towards the four points 
of the sky. They kept their dead in sacred charnel houses, and 
placed images near by to watch the remains or to receive the 
spirits as they returned, reminding us of Egyptian customs. 

The Mound-builder s cult was as strange as this. Here we 
see the pipes offered to the sun, but the pipes are covered with 
animal figures, suggestive of animal worship or totemism. Here 
also we see the serpent effigy, everything about it expressive of 
a still higher cult, namely, the worship of fire or the sun. Here 
we see the sun circle and the crescent, showing that sun worship 
was very prevalent. Here we see the phallic symbol, a marvel 
lous cult, holding its sway over a united people, Southern Ohio 
being its chief seat of power. Everything of value which was 
ever offered to the sun was subject to the action of the sacred 
flame. Here we see the horse-shoe symbol in the mounds and 
the phallic symbol in the serpent pipes. And with all this com 
plicated symbolism we learn that the bodies were cremated 
exactly as they were on Druidic altars, though the flames are 
smoothered beneath the layers of the sacred soil. Surely it is 
mysterious. Could the Mound-builders have invented all this, 
and established their system over so great a territory, brought 
so many strange conceptions into their worship, unless they 
had received from some source a cult which was not indigenous 
to the continent. It is said by some that they were nothing 
more and nothing less than the ancestors of the present race of 
Indians, but by others that they were gifted with great intelli 
gence; but whichever way we look at them, it does seem that 
they could not have had such a marvellous symbolism unless 
there had been among them some one from another continent. 



301 




Fig. l.Rock in Arizona, with Phallic and Fire and Serpent Symbols. 





Fig. 2. Inscribed Shells with Fire Generators or Suastikas from Tennessee. 



302 

IV. We now come to the conventionalized figures which 
a r e so common in this country, as well as in various parts of 
Europe and Asia. These figures are seen mainly on the shell 
gorgets and inscribed tablets, and yet they represent the same 
symbols which are seen in the earth-works.* The tablets and shell 
gorgets are more numerous among those works which are sup 
posed to have been built by sun-worshipers namely, those found 
in Southern Ohio, in Southern Illinois, in Middle Tennessee and 
in the Gulf States. In these regions cremation was practiced 
extensively, altars or fire-beds having been built in connection 
with the various effigies or in the midst of the circles and other 
symbolic earth-works. This correspondence between the shapes 
of the earth-works and the figures on the tablets and gorgets is, 
to be sure, a general one, and yet it shows that a very compli 
cated symbolism prevailed everywhere, and that this symbolism 
was embodied in various ways. We do not pretend to say 
where this symbolism came from, and yet when we consider its 
complication and the many evidences of design in it, we are con 
vinced that it was not a mere rude imitation nor yet a work of 
fancy, but wa s the result of a system which was both occult and 
mysterious. 

It is noticeable that the shell gorgets contain all the symbols 
which ever prevailed at the east the serpent, the cross, the 
crescent, the suastika, the tree, the horse-shoe, the loop, the owl s 
face, the bird s head, the human face, the human form and even 
the symbolic tree or sacred grove, all being plainly marked and 
carefully wrought. The impression formed from the study of 
these conventionalized figures is that they must have been intro 
duced into this country from some other continent, and that one 
esoteric system of religion prevailed here, its occult mysteries 
being understood by the priests or medicine men and by them 
transmitted from generation to generation and carried to the 
difTerent tribes and races, We now proceed to a description of 
these tablets, but would first call attention to some new localities 
where tablets have been discovered. There are on the banks of 
the Mississippi River three different classes of structures, show 
ing that three different forms of worship or of superstition 
prevailed, and giving indications also that three difTerent races 
of people formerly occupied the territory. These classes are 
as follows : First, the animal effigies which are found in Wis 
consin and in the upper part of the great valley. Second, the 
great serpent whose form is occasionally seen on the bluffs in 
the central part of Illinois, mingled with the burial mounds, 
which are so numerous. Third, the pyramid mounds, the largest 
specimen of which may be seen at Cahokia creek opposite to St. 
Louis. These three classes of mounds the writer has had the 

For earth- works in shape of serpents, see Native American Symbolism, Chapters 

III and IV, Fitrs. _ .;, IM nii/JT, Hi, 17; in shape of circles and squares, crescents and 
horse-shoes, Chap. VI, Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 19; in shape of cross, Chap. VII, * ig. 10. 



303 




Fig. S.Cahokia Tablet. Reverse. 




Fig, it.dahokia Tablet 



304 

opportunity of studying, and in connection with the last two- 
has recently made some important discoveries. 

It will be noticed that the serpent effigy situated on the bluffs 
just above Quincy is not altogether a solitary and single speci 
men, but there are evidences that the serpent worshipers 
inhabited a wide region and frequently placed the tokens of their 
presence on the high bluffs which border the river, especially 
upon the Illinois side. The mounds, which are very numerous 
and which mark their presence on the landscape, are, to be sure, 
not often in the shape of serpents, and yet they are frequently 
arranged in long rows, near to one another, and are practically 
conformed to every turn or twist of the bluff, so as to give rise to 
the idea that the serpent was in mind when they were erected. 
This peculiarity of the burial mounds seems to be intensified as 
one goes southward, and at one point near Rockport, in Pike 
county becomes so striking that it is not difficult to imagine 
the serpent effigy to be everywhere present. There is here a 
series of high rocky bluffs, and on the bluffs many large conical 
mounds, these mounds being frequently connected with long, 
low tortuous walls, which form the very spine of the narrow 
bluffs, making it difficult to determine which part is artificial 
and which is the natural part of the ridge. The writer found 
several such groups or series in the space of five miles, some of 
the groups containing fifteen and twenty conical mounds with 
narrow connecting ridges all of them situated on the highest 
point and made conspicuous objects in the landscape. At one 
place a series of conical mounds began at one end of the bluff 
and continued to the other, each conical mound growing less in 
height and size, and the connecting ridge jiarrower and more 
tortuous until it disappeared, the whole series resembling a huge 
and tortuous snake, whose head was lifted high above the 
precipice, but whose body stretched along the whole length and 
whose tail terminated with the end of the bluff. 

These semblances are not altogether imaginary, for the writer 
has passed over them a^ain and again, and has been impressed 
with the peculiar situation of each, and especially with the con 
formation of each to the very shape and twist of the bluffs on. 
which they are placed, and has become convinced that this was 
the superstition which embodied itself in the region. It was an 
animistic faith which thus peopled every bluff with the spirit of 
the animal which it resembled, but it was a modified animism 
which here only recognized the one resemblance that which is 
made to represent the guardian divinity of the region, the totem 
of the people and the great serpent of tradition. 

This was undoubtedly the spirit under whose protection their 
graves were placed and their villages were built; the divinity 
whose shadow was always present and whose power was 
always felt. 









Plate III. Inscribed Shells from Tennessee. Serpent and Human Effigies. 



306 

The second find was different from the one which we have 
described, and one which introduces us to a very different class. 
We now pass out from the domain of serpent worshipers into the 
midst of the works of the sun worshipers. We are near the 
great Cahokia mound, which lifts its head so high above the 
valley, and in the midst of the numerous pyramids and platforms 
and conical mounds which marked this great settlement of the 
sun worshipers. It is a very little relic which we see here 
before us, an insignificant piece of coarse sand stone, a mere 
fragment and apparently worthless; yet there are certain figures 
upon it, and it may prove significant. What do we see here? 
This fragment \vhich was plowed up in a field near this mound 
deserves our study. See Figs. 3 and 4. 

It is now in the possession of Mr. Ramey, the owner of the 
mound. This tablet is only two inches wide and three inches 
long, and is a very rude-looking piece of stone, but it has 
some very remarkable figures on it, figures which may yet prove 
to be of great service in solving some of the dark problems of 
American archaeology. It is well known that the great Cahokia 
mound is regarded as the work of a people who resembled in 
many points the pyramid-builders of Georgia and Alabama and 
Mississippi. It is also well known that these Georgia mounds 
have lately yielded from their lowest depths tablets of a remark 
able symbolic character human figures with bird s heads and 
with large wings extending from their shoulders, being the most 
noticeable in several of them. The tablet which we have the 
privilege of describing, also contains two human figures and 
two figures of birds heads, but the birds heads and the faces 
are separate from one another. The tablet had been broken, and 
only the half has been found. This half is divided into two 
parts, the parts on one side containing birds heads, and on 
the other side human faces. There is a band running length 
wise of the tablet and a cross band near the broken edge, 
showing that the other half was also in all probability divided 
in the same way, and so there may have been four figures of 
birds and four faces, instead of two, the number four being 
significant here as in all other symbols of the sun worshipers. 
The bands which form the half of a cross are full of small 
circles, sun symbols, the conventional dot in the center of each 
circle, and cross lines separating the circles. The birds heads 
have the conventional shape which is common in the southern 
tablets, the sharp pinnated feathers above the head, the mouth 
open as if in conflict, as usual; but on this tablet the bird 
seems to have a tongue which extends beyond the bill and 
curves around above the beak, ending in a peculiar scroll or 
circle which reminds one of the sign of speech in the Aztec 
pictures and codices. The human faces are on the reverse side of 
the tablet. They are also separated from one another by a band 



307 

g 

with circles or holes, but are looking away from one another 
instead of toward one another as the birds are. Each face has 
a lozenge-shaped eye, a beaked or sharp rounded nose, a low, 
retreating forehead, the forehead being partly hidden by a sort 
of turreted crown or head-dress, from which the usual pendants 
or tassels seem to fall. The features of these images are peculiar, 
resembling those which are sometimes seen among the Aztecs. 
The mouth of each is wide open, and from the mouth a very 
singular symbol seems to project. This symbol could not very 
easily be made out on account of the worn condition of the 
tablet, but it resembled a horse-shoe, and was at once suggestive 
of the phallic symbol. We do not state this positively, but if 
this is the case, we regard the tablet as one of the most remark 
able which has been fcund in this country. It is well known 
that the horse-shoe was originally a symbol of the generative 
organ; but in India it came to assume an entirely conventional 
shape and finally gained an esoteric significance which was very 
remote from the original sexual idea. It became, in fact a 
symbol for the "principle of life," and might be supposed to 
stand for the "breath," and so for the "soul," which is supposed 
to have dwelt in the breath. It is known that in Mexico at 
times pieces of jade are found in the mouths of the dead, it 
being a superstition that the jade might receive the soul, and so 
perpetuate the spirit of the individual. We do not say that this 
or any such superstition was embodied in this symbolic tablet, 
and yet we throw out the suggestion and ask others to examine 
the tablet with this thought in mind. 

It should be said here that the land in the immediate vicinity 
of the Cahokia mound is full of bones, and a vast multitude 
seems to have been buried here first and last. There is no doubt 
that the builders of this mound were sun worshipers, and that 
they had the usual symbolism of sun worship, though where 
that symbolism came from no one at present can tell. Still, if 
the tablet should prove to be as significant as it seems to be, we 
should conclude that that symbolism must have come from some 
other continent, and that we have in it another evidence of con 
tact with the people which once filled the far east with this strange 
cult and who carried it to the extreme portions of Europe and 
possibly brought it to America also. 

In favor of this supposition, we here mention the fact that 
nearly all the shell gorgets and inscribed tablets which are now 
becoming quite numerous, have an amount of conventionalism 
which in itself must convince us that the symbols in them had 
become thoroughly systematized and carefully regulated and 
controlled. We have no doubt that each one of the figures on 
these gorgets and tablets whether a figure of a serpent or of a 
bird or of a human face or figure had a significance which was 
thoroughly understood by the chiefs and priests and ruling 



308 



classes, and that they became almost equal to a series of hiero 
glyphics to the people. It will be noticed that there are loops 
and bands and circles and dots and crosses and crescents in all 
of the tablets, and that as a general thing the order of their 
arrangement, the number of the divisions, and even the very 
combinations of the different symbols, can be recognized as 
having a significance, each tablet becoming even to the uninitiated 
white man a sort of coat-of-arms or symbolic shield, the native 
heraldry having embodied itself in this way. We may say, 
however, that the contrast between the symbolism contained in 
this conventionalized heraldry is much more elaborate and com 
plicated than that found in the larger and ruder effigies, and that 
it requires a much nicer discrimination to select its different 
parts and to understand the significance of each. The same 
custom of erecting pyramids which had reached such perfection 
in Mexico had here exercised itself in erecting this immense 
earth-work. The same elaborate system of sun-worship had here 
embodied itself and the same conventional symbolism which 
appeared in the codices also impressed itself on the tablets and 
other symbolic ornaments. See Plate III. 

We would here call attention to a few additional facts. Our 
supposition has been that the Mound-builders combined the 
phallic worship with fire worship, but that the symbols of the 
two cults had become conventional and the ideas remote from 
those ordinarily associated with either physical or material ob- 
iects. Confirmatory of this supposition we would now refer to 
the specific figures which are to be seen on the inscribed 
shells and tablets taken from the mounds and to the various 
markings and lines which are seen on the inscribed rocks, whether 
in the Mississippi Valley or elsewhere. It will be noticed that 
there are many shell gorgets on which the serpent is inscribed, 
and that these serpent figures always have loops running from 
the body and neck to the head, including the dotted circle, as a 
representation of the eye. This loop is a conventional figure, 
which reminds one of phallic worship. Again, the serpent is 
often divided into four parts; between each part there is a dotted 
circle, the number four reminding us of the four points of the 
compass and the four parts of the heavens, the circles remind 
ing us of the four suns. Among the shell gorgets there are 
many which have the suastika or fire generator plainly marked, 
showing that the figures which have become so conventional and 
the ideas which are so hidden must have come from an eastern 
country. The same thought is also suggested by the presence 
of the cross in America, a symbol which was evidently as com 
mon in prehistoric times as in historic, but one which then had 
an entirely different significance. It will be noticed further that 
these symbols the loop and the dotted circle are to be plainly 
seen in the human figures, which are becoming quite common, 




ENGRAVED COPPER TABLET FROM THE ETOWAH MOUND. 



309 



and, what is more, that the figure of the tree is also apparent in 
these figures, showing still more conclusively that there was a 
mingling of eastern symbols with the native aboriginal emblems 



in these human tree figures. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



RELICS FROM THE ALTAR MOUNDS AND ASH PITS. 

The subject which we have chosen for this chapter is one of 
great importance, and one which has an especial bearing on the 
Mound-builders problem. This will be seen as we proceed to 
unfold the facts which have come to light, but it may be well to 
consider beforehand some of the points which are involved in 
the study of it. 

It will be noticed that the history of mound exploration began 
with the discovery of the altar mounds and the remarkable relics 
which they contained. The exploration of the ash pits is, on 
the contrary, very recent, and marks one of the latest events in 
archaeological discovery. It was in the early days of archaeology 
that the authors of the "Ancient Monuments", Messrs. Squier 
and Davis, began their exploration in Southern Ohio; but it was 
in connection with the altar mounds that the most remarkable 
discovery was made. This discovery was in the neighborhood 
of Chillicothe, the very place where these gentlemen resided. 
Here, in the midst of that very wonderful series of earth-works 
which then surrounded that city, and which were at that time in 
a very fine state of preservation, these gentlemen came upon 
that small enclosure to which they gave the name of " Mound 
City". The enclosure was by no means a "city", for it was but 
a little circle and contained scarcely more than thirteen acres of 
land, but it was a spot which proved very rich indeed in archae 
ological treasures. The treasure house of Mycenae may well 
have surprised the great explorer, Dr. Schliemann, but this with 
the discovery of the palace of Priam in Troy, may be said to 
have led to nearly all the explorations on the classic soil which 
have been, carried on since that time, and to be in reality the 
starting point gf classic archaeology as it now exists. So we 
may say that the little enclosure which contained twenty-four 
burial mounds, which was situated in the valley of the Ohio 
river, was the starting point of archaeological discovery in this 
country and the beginning of prehistoric science in America. 

The idea that there were chronological horizons in America 
as well as in Troy or in Egypt may not have occurred to many, 
but this is the very point brought out by the study of the altar 
mounds and the ash pits. These are eminently tokens which 
prove that there was a succession of races or tribes among th e 



310 

Mound-builders, and that each tribe or race left its record plainly 
written beneath the soil. While there are no buried cities here, 
and much less a succession of cities such as have been found in 
the great mound at Hissarlik; while there are no statues of 
kings which belonged to different dynasties, such as have been 
exhumed at Pithom in Egypt; yet in their rude way the Mound- 
builders did leave vestiges of themselves indicating diverse pop 
ulations and distinct grades, so that we may easily separate one 
from the other. It appears now that there were dynasties or races 
in the mound-building era. which are as distinct as those recog 
nized among the pyramid-builders of the East. The dynasties 
may not have as distinct a history and the monuments may not 
be as full of hieroglyphic records, yet the relics and the mounds 
do reveal a history of the past which is plain and true. The 
invasion of the shepherd kings into Egypt changed the records 
of that land. So the invasion of different tribes here changed 
the aspect of affairs, and we may recognize in the mounds the 
different grades of society, different modes of life, and even dif 
ferent race qualities, thus carrying out the analogy in many par 
ticulars. 

The distinction between the Mound-builders and Indians finds 
illustration here. The study of the altars and the ash pits seems 
to confirm this distinction rather than to confute it. It will be 
noticed that the relics taken from the altars are not only different 
from those taken from the ash pits, but they show a very differ 
ent condition of society, a different stage of culture, a different 
system of religion, and even give the idea that the occupations 
or employments of the people were also very different. This is 
an important point. We do not undertake to say who the 
Mound-builders were, nor do we hold for a certainty that they 
belonged to a different race or stock from the modern Indians; 
yet so far as their tools are concerned, we should say that the 
evidence is all in favor of a diversity of origin, the later people 
being allied with the Mongolians of the northeastern Asiatic 
coast, but the earlier people with the ancient races of the Euro 
pean continent. 

Was there a division into epochs? The ash pits we may regard 
as belonging to the most recent people. They are so different 
from the altars that any one who has learned about them must 
have come to the conclusion that at least two classes of people 
must have occupied this same region, one preceding the other, 
but the more advanced being peihaps the earlier. We do not 
know who the people were who dug these pits and deposited 
their relics in them, but enough is known to prove that they 
must have been not only different from those who had erected 
the altar mounds, but they must have been a more recent occu 
pants of the soil, and the probabilities are that they were a wilder 
or ruder people. This impresses upon us the fact that there 



311 

were probably several epochs in the mound-building period. 
The first epoch was that marked by the presence of the serpent- 
worshipers the people who erected the great serpent effigy in 
Adams county, and perhaps the effigy mounds at Granville and 
Portsmouth a people who afterwards migrated and became the 
effigy builders of Wisconsin. The second episode in the Mound- 
builders history we may consider as the one which was marked 
by the altar mounds. It was the age in which sun-worship 
reached its height. At that time the sacred enclosures were 
erected ; at that time the relics of the Mound-builders were 
offered in great numbers to the sun divinity. At that time the 
finest works of art which have been discovered were created, 
and at that time the most elaborate and extensive earth-works 
were erected, and the highest stage of civilization known among 
all the mound-building races was reached. The third episode 
in the mound-building 
period was that which 
is marked by the strati 
fied mounds and by the 
chambered tombs. It is 
supposed that an un 
known people who pos 
sibly may have been the 
ancestors of the Chero- 
kees intervened be 
tween the sun-worship 
ers and the people of the 

ash pits and Chambered *&- l>-^ltar Mound at Clarke s Fort. 

mounds, and who left the tokens of their presence on the soil of 
Ohio. The ash pits mark the last episode of the mound-building 
period. We do not fix the date exactly, and yet there are some 
evidences which show that it was veiy near the historic age. It 
may possibly have been even subsequent to the discovery by 
Columbus that these remarkable relics were deposited. 

As to the ages represented a few words will be appropriate. The 
relics seem to belong to the stone age, and perhaps indicate to 
us the cult of that age; and yet those from the altar mounds are 
nearer the " bronze age" than to the stone. Perhaps we might 
class them with a " copper age," and from them learn the char 
acteristics and the cult of that age". 

We have said that altar mounds were closely associated with 
sacred enclosures, and that both were probably the work of the 
class of sun-worshiping Mound-builders, but we find among the. 
relics deposited on these altars many things which remind us of 
the cult of the serpent-worshipers, the two systems apparently 
having been mingled in the altar offerings. The ash pits, on 
the contrary, seem to have been associated altogether with the 
cult of a people who deposited their relics in graves rather 




312 

than in mounds, the large majority of them being in the midst 
of the cemeteries, in which many bodies were deposited, so that 
we are inclined to say that these were not the work of Mound- 
builders at all. but were left here by a later people who resembled 
the modern Indians. Still the relics discovered in the ash pits 
nevertheless remind us of the "age" of the Mound-builders, and 
the question arises whether there was not a practice of borrow 
ing the art of relic making from one another among the pre 
historic races, and whether this does not in itself suggest to us 
many things concerning the relation of the two classes of people 
in prehistoric times. We look to the relics for the records of 
the past. It may be that we shall find in these very relics taken 
from the altars and the ash pits the different leaves of the book 
which contains the history for which we are seeking. 

The next point has reference to the religious symbolism which 
prevailed. We have spoken of this elsewhere, but the position 

taken is confirmed. Our 
opinion is that these altars 
mark the places where the 
sun worshipers offered their 
sacrifices to their great di 
vinity and that in them 
we find the symbolism of 
this cult. Our reasons for 
this belief are the following: 

(i) It will be noticed 
that the altars were all con- 

Fig. i.-Copper Rings from an Altar Mound. tained in enclosures, which, 

owin^ to the uses to which they were applied, may well 
be called sacred enclosures. It is well known that the ancient 
inhabitants of Briton were accustomed to erect their stone altars 
within circular earth walls like these, and that on these altars 
they offered their sacrifices to the sun, sometimes immolating 
even human victims. This is true of the inhabitants of Mexico 
and of the Pacific Islands, who were also sun-worshipers. 
(2) The altars were evidently symbolic in their shapes. They 
were to be sure little more than shallow saucer-like fire beds, 
which were placed on the surface of the ground and filled with 
relics of various kinds which were offered to the sun. Many of 
them, however, were circular in shape; some of them contained 
a double circle, some the square and circle; occasionally altars 
contained crescents made from silvery mica, the shape of the 
crescents and the shining material of which they were composed 
giving the idea that they were the symbols of the great moon 
divinity, which in common with the sun was worshiped by these 
strange people. (3) The use of fire in the sacrifices. It appears 
that all the altars give traces of a "great burning." In some of 
them human bodies seem to have been cremated ; in others stone 




313 

relics were deposited and reduced to fragments by the action of 
fire. The altars seem to have been kept open until fixed times, 
when the solemn rites were observed, The fires were lighted in 
the midst of the enclosure, the offerings were partially consumed 
while the people looked on, but afterwards smothered by throw 
ing earth upon them, which became hardened into a crust over 
the altars, and upon this was erected the mound, which continued 
to be a silent monument to the sun. We now proceed to con 
sider the contrasts between altars and ash pits, and their relics. 
I. We first turn to the description of the altar mounds. These 
as we have said, were the earliest to be discovered, the majority 
of them having been explored by Messrs. Squier and Davis. 
Altar mounds, however, have been discovered in many places, 
and they now constitute an interesting class of archaeological 
tokens. It was thought they were found only in the State of 
Ohio, but it is now known that similar mounds exist near Daven- 




Fig. S. Altar Mound with Indian Burial Intruded. 

port, Iowa, in various parts of Illinois, and a few among the 
effigy mounds of Wisconsin. This brings before us the question 
of the migration of the Mound-builders a question which we 
shall defer for another chapter. At present we shall speak of the 
altar mounds of Southern Ohio. 

Let us consider the locations of the altar mounds. It maybe 
said that the largest number and the most interesting specimens 
are those which were discovered near Chillicothe, Ohio. This 
is the first location. The second is not very distant from this. 
It is the group which was discovered on the north fork of Paint 
Creek, in the midst of the enclosure called Clarke s Fort. See 
Fig. I. The third location is that found on the banks of the 
Little Miami river, not far from the Ohio river, some twenty 
miles east of Cincinnati. 

There are altar mounds in other parts of the country, but they 
are seldom contained in enclosures, but are oftener the cremation 
places where bodies have been burned, the relics found upon 
them having been buried with the bodies. We may say that the 
serpent-worshipers erected altars, but they generally used them 
as cremation places. The sun-worshipers, however, used them 
not so much as cremation places as places for the deposit of 
costly offerings, though remains of bodies are sometimes found 



314 

(i.) We begin with the altar mounds at Mound City. This 
is an enclosure three miles from Chillicothe. It contained thir 
teen acres. Here within the walls were twenty conical mounds, 
all of which were explored, and the majority of them proved to 
contain altars. This puts it beyond question that they were places 
of sacrifice. One of these mounds was 17 feet high, 100 feet in 
diameter. It was a stratified mound, four strata in all ; at a depth 
of 19 feet was a level floor of clay, slightly burned, and around 
this floor was a layer of silvery mica, formed of sheets which 
overlapped each other like the scales of a fish. This layer was 
in the form of a crescent, the outer edge of which rested on 
a ridge of sand six inches in height. The length of the crescent 
from horn to horn was 20 feet, its greatest width 5 feet. The 
mica sheets were about 10 inches or a foot in diameter, composed 
of what is called graphic mica. It is supposed that these cres 
cents marked the unknown rites or ceremonies, and which may 
have been connected with the worship of the moon, as it is not 
supposed to have been a mound of sacrifice. 



Fig, U. Double Altar. 

Another mound of this group was 7 feet high by 55 feet base. 
This mound was stratified with eight Inyers of gravel, sand and 
earth. At the bottom was an altar of burned clay, 5 feet by 9. 
It was filled with fine dry ashes and fragments of pottery, copper 
disks, and above the ashes was a layer of silvery mica, in sheets, 
overlapping each other. Above the mica was a quantity of 
human bones. Another mound, 90 feet in diameter and 7^ feet 
in height, contained five layers and an altar. The altar was IO 
feet in length and 8 in width at the base, 6 feet by 4 at the top; 
the dip of the basin was 9 inches; it was filled with ashes.* 

This mound (Fig. 3) was composed of five strata, as follows: 
I, gravel, one foot; 2, earth, three feet thick ; 3, sand ; 4, earth, 
two feet thick; 5, a stratum of sand; 6, the altar. The altar was 
a parallelogram, 10 feet by 8, 1 8 inches high. It contained a 
few shell and pearl beads and fragments of pottery. The in 
truded burial contained two skeletons, various implements of 
horn and bone, several hand axes and gorgets of stone, the 
shoulder-blade of the buffalo, shaped like a Turkish scimeter, an 
instrument made of an elk s-horn, used as a war-club, all exceed 
ingly rude, and resembling articles used by Indians. 

Another mound, 90x60 in diameter, 6 feet in height, had two 

See Fig. 3, also Ancient Monuments. 



315 

sand strata. It contained a large quantity of galena, 30 pounds 
in all. The galena was in small pieces; around this deposit 
was a layer of charcoal. The altar bore marks of intense heat. 
Still another mound, 140 feet in length, 50 or 60 in width and 1 1 
high, with two sand strata, contained an altar 60 feet in length, 
which formed a basin not fan from 18 inches in depth. Within 
this basin was another altar (see Fig. 4), 8 feet square. T his 
altar seems to have been burned to the depth of 22 inches, show 
ing that one altar had been built upon another, and fire had been 
applied at different times. It is supposed that three successive 
burnings had occurred before the altar had been covered. There 
was a thin layer of fine carbonaceous matter in the altar, a num 
ber of pieces of timber; other things would justify the inference 
that they had supported some funeral or sacrificial pile. A 
quantity of pottery, many implements of copper and stone were 
deposited on the altar. They had been subjected to a strong 
heat. Among the implements were arrow points of quartz in 
fragments, some fifty or one hundred of them in number, two 
copper gravures or chisels, twenty or more tubes of copper, many 
fragments of pottery, a couple of carved pipes, one of them a bird 
resembling the toucan. There were fragments of obsidian and 
crystals of garnet also on this altar. 



Fig. 5. Paved Altar. 

Another mound contained an altar 8 feet 2 inches in length, 
and about 4 feet in width, the depression 6 inches. In the 
altar were about two hundred pipes, carved in stone, many pearl 
and shell beads, disks of copper, ornaments of copper, covered 
with silver. The pipes were much broken up. The heat had 
been sufficiently strong to melt the copper. The bowls of the 
pipes were carved in the shapes of animals, birds, reptiles, etc., 
all of them executed with strict fidelity to nature. The otter 
is shown in the characteristic attitude, holding a fish in his 
mouth ; the heron also hold a fish ; the hawk grasps a small bird 
in its talons, which it tears with its beak ; the panther, the bear, 
the wolf, the beaver, the squirrel, the raccoon, the hawk, heron, 
crow, swallow, buzzard, paraquet, toucan, turtle, frog, toad, and 
rattlesnake are recognized at the first glance. The most interest 
ing and valuable in the list are a number of sculptured human 
heads, representing the physical features of the ancient people 
by whom they were made. Copper disks, tubes, pearl, shell and 
silver beads were also found in this mound. The silver was re 
duced to extreme thinness, not exceeding in thickness ordinary 
foolscap paper; it was plated, or, rather, wrapped around copper 
beads. There were a number of large beads of shell enveloped 



316 

with sheets of copper, with thin sheets of silver over the copper. 
Besides there were several star-shaped ornaments composed ol 
shell, covered by an envelope of sheet copper, over which silver 
slips were carefully folded. A small hole passed through the 
center of these ornaments, by which they were fastened, proba 
bly to the clothing of the wearer. There was but a small amount 
of silver; the whole amount would not exceed an ounce in 
weight. 

Another of these mounds contained three sand strata and an 
altar of unusual form. At a depth of 4^ feet the deposit was 
reached, which consisted of a pavement of water-worn stone, 
taken from the river. See Fig. 5. The pavement was 6 feet 
long and 4 broad. On the pavement was a skeleton. A fire had 
been built over it. There were no relics with the skeleton, though 
around the head were disposed a number of large fragments of 
cyanite, a material from which the instruments of the modern 
Indians were frequently made. After the burial rites had been 
performed, the altar had been filled and another fire had been 





Fig. 6. Altar Made of Mint Disks. 

kindled, leaving the earth of a reddish color. The whole had 
then been covered up by the mound. There was an intruded 
burial in the top of this mound. Another mound, So feet in 
diameter, 6 feet high, contained an altar composed of two layers 
of disks, chipped out of horn stone, some nearly round, some in 
the form of spear heads, measuring 6 inches by 4. Six hundred 
disks were thrown out. These disks were deposited here per 
haps as an offering; they must have been fashioned with toil and 
brought from a distance. They were carefully laid in two tiers, 
one layer upon another, a little inclining or overlapping one 
another. See Fig. 6. This leads to the conclusion that human 
sacrifices were practiced by the Mound-builders of this region. 
Another mound which belongs to this group near Chillicothe 
is the one represented in the cut Fig. 7. This mound was situ 
ated in the center of a large enclosure, but was solitary. It 
contained two altars, both of them cased or paved with pebbles. 
The paving was made from pebbles about the size of a hen s 
gcg. These were laid with the utmost precision, rivalling the 
pavers finest work. Upon the altar was found burned matter 



317 

and human bones, and encircling the bones were ten wrought 
copper rings, probably the bracelets of the arms which had been 
burned. See Fig. 2. 

(2.) We now turn to the second locality. This was at Clarke s 
Fort, situated some twenty miles north from Chillicothe. The 
fort itself contained a hundred and eleven acres. Within the 
fort was the small enclosure in which were the altar mounds, 
showing that it was the sacred place for the clan which (see Fig. 
1 8) dwelt here. This so-called sacred enclosure was semi-circu 
lar in shape, 2000 feet in circumference, and in it were seven 
mounds, three of which were joined together, forming a continu 
ous elevation 30 high by 500 feet long, the other four being 
isolated mounds (see Fig. i). Here the ground Vas elevated 
above the surface and overlooked the area of the larger fort in 
which they were enclosed. The mounds were all places of 
sacrifice. One mound here contained two altars, or rather an 
altar and near it a bed of charcoal. On the altar, which meas- 




Fig. 7. Double Altar. 

ured not more than 2 feet across, were some remarkable relics: 
Several instruments of obsidian, broken, but evidently designed 
lor knives; several scrolls from mica, perforated, designed as 
ornaments to a robe; traces of cloth with thread, doubled and 
twisted, made from some vegetable fibre; several bone needles; 
a quantity of pearl beads; some fragments of copper. Another 
mound in the same enclosure contained an altar of large flat 
stones, faced on the top and sides with slabs which were closely 
fitted together. The altar bore marks of fire. The deposits on 
it had been removed by modern Indians, who had opened the 
mound and buried one of their dead on the slope of it. Another 
mound contained an altar with a level area 10 or 15 feet broad, 
which was covered over with earth, a foot deep, followed by a 
stratum of small stones. Hundreds of relics were taken from 
this mound. Several coiled serpents, carefully enveloped in 
sheet mica and copper; carved fragments of ivory; a large 
number of fosr.il teeth. 

(3.) Another locality where relics have been found upon altars 
is the one which has been described by Prof. Putnam under the 
name of the Turner Group, in Anderson township on the Little 
Miami river. The group embraces thirteen mounds and two 
earth circles, is enclosed by two circular embankments. Several 
of the mounds contain altars. One altar contained two bushels 



318 

of ornaments, stone, copper, mica, shells, and thousands of 
pearls, nearly all of them perforated. The copper ornaments 
were covered with native silver, pounded into thin sheets. One 
copper pendant was covered with a thin sheet of gold, the first 
specimen of native gold that has been found in a mound. Here 
were thirty of the singular spool-shaped ear-rings, ornaments of 
copper resembling the heads of animals, a few grotesque human 
profiles; scrolls, scalloped circles, oval pendants, several finely 
chipped points of obsidian, three large sheets of mica. The 
most important of all were several masses of meteoric iron, and 
an ear ornament of copper covered with a thin plating ot the 
iron. Three of the masses of iron had been more or less ham 
mered. They proved to contain nickle, and were unquestionably 
meteoric. Another altar contained several terra cotta figures, 
all of them more or less burned. Many of them appear to have 
been purposely broken. These show the peculiar method of 
wearing the hair, singular head dress, and button-like ear orna 
ments; two remarkable dishes carved from stone, in the form of 
animals; a serpent cut out of mica; several hundred small 
pebbles; 300 astragali of deer ; a finely made bracelet of copper; 
several ornaments of copper. Another mound contained a 
tumulus surrounded by a stone wall, in which were several skel 
etons. With each of three of the skeletons were found a pair 
of spool-shaped ear ornaments, two large sea shells and a copper 
celt. This mound seemed to be full of a series of pits, with 
tubes and flues, showing the action of fire. The Marriott mound, 
adjoining the Turner group, contained a large quantity of relics. 
The mound was 2 feet high and 60 feet in diameter, with a basin 
of burnt clay in the center. Within the mound were many bone 
implements, such as needles and awls, chisels, objects of stone, 
400 flake knives, also 10 handles of knives made of antler, in a 
pile, under the bones; with the group ot handles, chipped points 
and flakes, a copper plate cut from a sheet of rolled copper, 9 
inches across and in length, 5^ in width; with the plates 6 
canine teeth of bears, with pearls inlaid; 6 spool-shaped ear 
ornaments, four near the head and two in the hands, also a large 
quantity of pearl beads, 250 or 300 in number. The ear orna 
ments have vegetable fibre wound around the central column. 
These may have been placed with the dead as tributes. The 
number of these ornaments found on the altars of the great 
mound, some covered with native iron, others with native silver, 
shows that they were regarded as valued offerings in keeping 
with the thousands of pearls and other ornaments thrown upon 
the altar fires during the ceremonies which there took place. 

These altars in Anderson township, as well as those on the 
north fork of Paint Creek and in the Scioto valley, were all in 
enclosures, surrounded by a circular wall, but the most of the 
relics seem to have been placed on the altars and offered, fire 



319 

having been applied, and the costly relics burned and destroyed 
by the heat. What was the object of making the altars? Was 
it to appease the divinity and to ward off some great calamity, 
or was it to present these costly gifts to the spirits of the de 
ceased, that they might have pipes and ornaments in the land of 
the shades, the shadowy shapes of the pipes going up in the 
flames to be taken by the spirits which were hovering near? 
The answer to these questions cannot be positively given. There 
seems to have been mingled sun-worship and fire-worship in all 
of these localities, and there are some evidences to prove that 
human bodies were cremated, and that the offerings of costly 
relics were to the spirits of the dead. Many of the relics were 
associated with human bones, giving the idea that in some cases 
at least bodies were burned at the same time that the relics were 
deposited. There is a distinction between the altars on which 
offerings were made, and the basins or fire beds on which bodies 
were burned. The last case which was described, the one in 
Anderson township, was a fire bed. The altar was in the midst 
of the bodies that were buried. It will be noticed that there 
were no offerings as such in this burial place, unless we consider 
the pottery and flint flakes and the bundles of knife handles, as 
offerings. Otherwise it was a burial place in which cremation 
had been practiced.* 

II. We now turn to the study of the relics. It will be noticed 
that the relics taken from the altar mounds are of the same gen 
eral character. They abound with fine sculpturing and are many 
of them imitative of animated nature. There may be a slight 
difference between the specimens taken from the Turner group 
and those from the Chillicothe mounds. We learn from them 
that the people who erected the altars were well advanced in art. 
We may say, in fact, they were more advanced than any other 
known race of Mound builders. No specimens have been dis 
covered which can compare with these. Great contrasts may be 
seen between these relics and those taken from the ash pits, and 
we might also say include the relics taken from the stratified 
mounds. We call attention to these contrasts as we proceed. 

(l.) Let us first consider the relics found in the altar mounds. 
These were of all kinds of material copper, lead, mica, gold, sil 
ver, meteoric iron, pearl beads, shell ornaments, carved stone, 
highly wrought pottery, and even woven cloth. We may say that 
all these seem to have been the work of one people, for they all 
have the same general characteristics. There are, to be sure, 
certain variations in the different collections, those from the first 
locality having more human shaped carvings, those from the 
second abounding more with the figures of serpents, and those 
from the third exhibiting more of the spool-shaped ornaments 

*See 18th Annual Report, Peabody Museum, pages 450-466. 



and more metal covered specimens. Still, so far as the art. was 
concerned, we place them all in the same grade. It is unneces 
sary to say that they are immeasurably beyond anything which 
the North American Indians are known to produce. They com 
bine taste in arrangement with skill in workmanship, and are 
faithful copies of nature. They display animals in characteristic 
attitudes and show great familiarity with their habits. The 
human effigies are valuable as ethnological specimens, giving the 
features characteristic of the tribes then extant. The ornaments 
are also suggestive as to the dress worn in prehistoric times. 

We now proceed with the specific cases, and take up the spec 
imens from the enclosure called Mound City. A description of 
the relics was given by Squier and Davis at considerable length. 




Fig. 8.- Heron. 

From this we learn that the carved pipes were especially beauti 
ful and true to life. Among the most spirited and delicately 
executed specimens are those representing the birds. They are 
more numerous than those of animals; they comprise between 
thirty and forty different kinds, and not far from a hundred spec 
imens. There are several varieties of the same species. Among 
the owls we find the great owl, horned owl, and little owl ; several 
varieties of the rapacious birds, the heron (see Fig. 8) and hawk 
being notable specimens, the small body, long wings, long, thin 
neck, sharp bill, tufted head are striking features. The articula 
tions of the legs and the minutest features are shown. These are 
carved from red speckled porphyry. As a work of art it is in 
comparably superior to the remains of any existing tribes of 
Indians. The hawk is in the attitude of tearing a small bird to 
pieces. The sculpture is spirited and life-like, minute and deli 
cate. The finer feathers are well represented. The eyes of this 
bird are composed of small pearls, inserted about half their 
depth in the stone. The swallow has an attitude which is char- 



321 

acteristic; the body is thrown forward, wings about to be ex 
tended, as if the bird was just ready to dash off on its swift 
flight. Another bird is wrought with admirable skill. 

The cherry bird is represented by three specimens; nothing 
can exceed the life-like expression of these. Several bird-pipes 
seem to be unfinished. They lack the markings for the feathers 
and for the bills. The base and various parts of the figure ex 
hibit fine striae, resulting from rubbing or grinding. The general 
outline was secured by cutting with sharp instruments, the marks 
of which are plainly to be seen. "The specimens indicate that 
the work was done rapidly by an experienced hand; the freedom of 
the strokes could only result from long practice. The lines in 
dicating the feathers, grooves of the beak and other more delicate 
features, are cut or graved at a single stroke; some pointed tool 
seems to have been used, as the marks are visible where it occa 
sionally slipped. We may infer that the manufacture of pipes 
was a distinct trade among the Mound-builders." 




Fig. 0. Spotted Toad. 

Sculptures of the toad are very truthful. See Fig. 9. The 
knotted, corrugated skin, folds and lines are clearly cut with some 
sort of a graver. The marks of the implement clipping out 
portions a fourth of an inch in length are distinct. The general 
surface appears to be covered with striae, the result of rubbing. 
Some of the toads are also unfinished. 

Two heads representing eagles are also very superior in point 
of finish, spirit and truthfulness. The peculiar defiant expression 
of the king of birds is admirably preserved. Expression in 
sculpture was evidently aimed at by the artist, and very success 
fully represented. The lugubrious expression of the mouths of 
the toads is said to be very amusing. The savage expression of 
the beasts of prey is also quite marked. The wild cat, cougar 
and otter are represented. These are exquisitely carved from a 
red granulated porphyry; strong jaws, short neck, whiskers, the 
shape of the hair around the head are minutely sculptured. The 
ears are also very natural. A very spirited representation of the 



322 

head of the elk is given; another of the wolf, several of the 
serpent; the beaver, the squirrel, the toucan and the Manitou 
are also represented. The human face is very finely represented. 
Four specimens were taken from one mound, mound No. 8 in 
Mound City. Each one cf these specimens was different. It 
would seem as if the effort was to represent different tribal 
features in these faces. The hair, head dress, tatooing and paint 
ing are represented. The ears were perforated, and it is probable 
that they were ornamented with rings of copper. Fidelity to 
nature in the sculptures of human heads is such that they dis 
play not only the characteristic features of the ancient races, but 
their method of wearing the hair, style of the head dress, mode 
of adjusting their ornaments. A fillet of real pearls was dis 
played upon the head of one of these pipes, the drapery of the 
head dress having had a border of these precious stones. The 
use of pearls and precious stones for the eyes of the birds and 
for the head dresses of the human faces is noticeable, as it shows 
some skill in the lapidary s art. 




Fig. 10. Tufted Serpent. 

(2.) The relics from Clarke s Fort are next to be described. 
The coiled serpent is the most remarkable, as it seems to be the 
embodiment of a myth, and suggests a familiar symbol, which 
is common at the East. The suggestion that the various relics 
found upon the altar were the personal effects of deceased chiefs 
is controverted by the fact that the deposits are generally homo 
genous. Upon one altar pipes only; upon another a simple 
mass of galena; another has a quantity of pottery ; another a 
collection of spear heads; another a layer of mica. Mica is 
common in the deposits of the mounds of Ohio. Beside the 
deposit in the shape of a crescent at Mound City and the scrolls 
of mica in the mound on the North Fork, the Grave Creek 
mound contained a hundred and fifty bits of mica, perforated as 
if they were ornaments on the article of dress. A large piece of 
mica, three feet across, was found in a mound near Circleville. 
Perforated tablets were also frequently found in the altar mounds. 
Whether these tablets were worn as badges or ornaments, or 
whether they were carried as implements for shaping the bow 
string, is uncertain. They are very common in the mounds cf 
Ohio. Bracelets of copper, smoothly hammered and highly 
polished, are also common. The serpents from this enclos- 



323 

ure are most remarkable, as they were very skilllfuly wrought. 
Some of them seem to have been symbolic in shape. "It does not 
appear that these relics were designed for ornaments; on the 
contrary, the circumstances under which they were discovered 
render it likely that they had a superstitious origin." One tablet 
was found closely enveloped in sheets of copper. See Fig. 10. 
It was painted in different colors, but several of these were orig 
inally deposited in the mound. 

III. We now turn to the ash pits. We have said that these 
belonged to a different horizon from the altar mounds and were 
probably the tokens of a different race. These points are to be 
considered as we proceed, and in order to bring them out the 
more clearly we shall speak first oi the location of the ash pits; 
next consider the difference between these and the altars; third, 
of the character of the deposits contained in the pits; fourth, 
of the grade of art which was represented by the relics contained 
in them, and fifth, of the probable age of and race to which they 
should be ascribed. 

(i.) Let us ask about the location. On this we have the testi 
mony of several gentlemen who have visited the spot, including 
the writer among the number. The cemetery in which these 
ash pits were discovered is distant about one and a half miles 
southeast from Madisonville, and occupies the western extremity 
of an elevated plateau which overlooks the Little Miami river, 
and is about one hundred feet above the water line. Here is a 
well-wooded bluff which faces the river for about half a mile, but 
which is cut off from the background by a small stream called 
Whisky run. The locality has been a pottery field, as much 
pottery has been found here. There are no mounds in the cem 
etery, but there are a number on the edge of the bluff adjoining, 
and among them one or two earth circles with the ditch inside of 
the circle. It is also said there were about forty such earth- works 
in the region, being scattered about the townships of Columbia, 
Anderson and Spencer. Whether these are with the cemetery is 
a serious question. It will be remembered that in other locali 
ties mounds and earth-works are associated; but this is the only 
one in which a cemetery seems to figure as among the tokens. 
This would seem to indicate that the cemetery was in reality an 
exception and that it belonged to another period. It is said, to 
be sure, that the forest trees growing in the cemetery were many 
of them very large, measuring from ten to fifteen feet in circum 
ference, and that this would prove the cemetery to have been of 
the pre-Columbian age. We grant it; but the same time main 
tain that it was comparatively modern. 

(2.) A comparison between the altars and ash pits. It appears 
the burials were exceedingly rude, the bodies having been merely 
deposited in the ground without any covering not even a stone 
coffin or a covering of bark, and much less a fire bed or altar 



324 

such as we have described. The only thing which at all re 
sembled an altar was the pits into which the ashes and bones 
and debris seem to have been poured; but there were no traces 
of religious offerings or any such thing. It is worthy of note, 
however, that the bodies were almost without exception accom 
panied by fine vases, and sometimes by pipes and other choice 
relics. The bodies were for the most part placed in an horizontal 
shape, but they were also arranged in tiers one above the other, 
as if the cemetery had been long in use. The ash pits are sup 
posed to have been dug before the bodies were deposited, and 
yet the pits and the graves may have been cotemporaneous, the 
one being the depository of the sacred possessions and the other 
of the bodies of the deceased. 

(3.) As to the character of the ash pits: Perhaps this will be 
understood from a review of the explorations. This was begun 
under the Literary and Scientific Society of Madisonville. and 
the report was prepared by Chas. P. Low, though the explora 
tions were conducted by Dr. C. L. Metz, who afterwards trans 
ferred the results of his labors to the Peabody Museum. When 
the exploration was begun the earth-works and mounds were 
the chief objects of interest, but during the progress of the work 
one of the laborers who was digging holes in the forest, came 
upon an ancient cemetery from which six hundred skeletons, 
accompanied by evidences of handiwork in the shape of flint, 
stone implements, pottery ware, charred matting and corn, tools 
and ornaments of bone, shell and copper, all indicating an indus 
trious people who lived in large communities, and obtained their 
support by cultivating the soil, as well as by fishing and hunting. 
The cemetery is situated on a plateau overlooking the Little 
Miami river, eighty to one hundred feet above the river line. 
It is said to have contained about thirteen acres, and although 
the majority of the graves were found on an area of about four 
acres, Dr. Metz began a trench on the south edge of the plateau, 
running it north and south. About two feet below the surface 
he found an inverted vessel, resting on a skull, and soon after 
ward found others, making four vessels and four crania. The 
next day in a space 4^ feet square, enlarging this excavation, 
other vessels and skulls were found. He finally came to a cir 
cular pit, 3^ feet in diameter, and 4^ feet deep, which contained 
fragments of twenty-two skeletons. The work was continued; 
graves were found, the skeletons being in a horizontal position; 
and ash pits with layers of ashes in the midst of the graves. 
The skeletons were placed in all directions, some of them at 
right angles with others; some were parallel, but the majority 
were recumbent. The ash pits contained leaf moulds, charred 
wood, ashes and animal remains, fragments of pottery, two of 
them contained matting, shelled corn and ear corn, with a layer 
of boulders six inches deep at the very bottom. In one pit a 



325 

body was found doubled up, placed at the very bottom of the pit. 
In another pit there were two pieces of copper found on the bot 
tom of the pit, and carbonized corn stalks and leaves. Other 
pits contained layers of white sand and white ashes, and with 
the ashes a great number of implements and relics. Some of the 
pits contained depressions at a depth of six feet or more, filled 
with white ashes and relics. These seem to have been pockets. 
More than one hundred pieces of copper were discovered in 
these pits, and many interesting relics. 

About 1000 pits were discovered in the cemetery. It is sup 
posed that they were made before the 600 bodies were buried, as 



LEAF MOLD 24. IN 



LEAF MOLD 24-, I N 



ASHES WITH 
ANIMAL REMAINS 
FRAGMENTS OF POTTERY 
SHELLS 8cG - 



GRAVEL &CLAY I 5.1 N 



ASHES CONTAINING 

ANIMAL REMAINS 

j)HERDS&UNIO SHELLS 10m 

BARK.TWIGS&MATTING -4 I N 



liiriiilii 



EAR -CORN 



BOULDERS 6 IN 



Fig. 11. Ash Pits. 

a large number of the skeletons were found over the pits ; still 
there are some evidences that the cemetery was used at a time 
preceding the digging of some of the pits, as in a few instances 
skeletons were disturbed when the pit was first dug, the bones 
having been taken up and placed at one side. Most of the pits 
are said to have been filled with ashes in more or less defined 
layers. Throughout the whole mass of ashes and sand, from 
the top of the pit to the bottom, were bones of fishes, reptiles, 
birds and mammals, those of the larger mammals, such as the 
elk, deer and bear, being generally broken. With the bones were 
shells ot various kinds. Many of the valves had a large cir 
cular piece cut out near the center. The pottery obtained from 



326 

the pits was generally broken. A large number of implements 
made of bones of deer and elk were found in the pits. These 
bones seem to have been used as scrapers of some kind, as 
they were worn through in the center, and had sharp edges, bev 
elled on the inside. Bone implements in the shape of awls, bone 
beads, small whistles or bird calls, made from the hollow bones 
of birds, flat pieces with tally notches on them, a few bone fish 
hooks, and two or three harpoon points, were found. 

The ash pits represented in the cut (See Fig. 1 1) may be re 
garded as typical of the whole series. These pits were partially 

filled with leaf mould, 
giving the impression 
thatthe pits had either 
been left open or that 
the contents below 
had decayed and let 
the upper part sink 
below the surface. The 
layer of gravel above 
the animal remains in 
one pit and of ashes 
in the other would in 
dicate the same thing, 
for it is probable that 
these layers were up 
permost and that orig- 

* ,. ^.-Pouery ,-*! xaoHommtor. ^ ^ ^ ^ 

mouth of the pits near the surface. The animal remains and bones 
were just such as would naturally accumulate after a great feast or 
after a prolonged encampment. They were, however, such ani 
mals as only wild hunters would be likely to feed upon deer, 
elk, raccoon, opossums, woodchucks, wild turkeys, etc. The 
fragments of pottery indicate that the people used pottery ves 
sels for cooking purposes. Our impression is that these vessels 
were accidentally broken and the fragments gathered with the 
debris of the camp and thrown into the pits. The bark, twigs 
and matting in the third layer also give us the same impression. 
The discovery of a large amount of carbonized corn, several 
bushels of it in one pit, covered with bark, twigs and matting, 
which was also burned, and above the matting the usual mass of 
ashes containing animal bones, shells, and other things, is to be 
noticed, on account of its bearing on the age of the pits. The 
modern Indians were accustomed to make caches for their corn. 
The covering for these caches was generally of bark and matting. 
We imagine that the people who deposited these relics were a 
people who lived in wigwams covered with bark and mats, very 
similar to those of the Algonkins. The corn conveys the same 
impression. It must have been at a comparatively recent date 




327 

that this corn was deposited. No such deposits have been found 
among the altar mounds, though the people who built these 
mounds were even more given to agriculture than those of the 
ash pits. The boulders at the bottom of the pit are also signifi 
cant. A common way of cooking among savages is to heat 
stones and place them in the vessel containing water until the 
water boiled. Here we have boulders bearing signs of fire, as if 
they had been used for the same purpose. 

According to all accounts, a kitchen midden, several feet in 
thickness and of considerable extent, existed at the head of a 
small ravine. It contained the same character of material as that 
found in the pits. In it were two or three areas about 50 feet in 
diameter, in which neither ash pits nor skeletons were dis- 




Fig. IS. Pottery Vessel with Ears. 

covered. The impression made by these areas is that they may 
have been council houses, and that after long residence the kitchen 
middens became places for the deposit of the refuse of the 
camps, and the pits the deposits of the sacred feasts and of re 
ligious offerings. This may have been at a time when there 
were no graves on the spot, the bodies having been placed in the 
ground subsequent to the time of the digging and filling of 
the pits, and probably by a different tribe. If a distinction were 
to be recognized between the graves and the pits and the kitchen 
middens, we should say that the graves were much more modern. 
Still they may have belonged all to one people. The ground 
which yielded the relics was only about four or five acres in 
extent. This was thoroughly explored. The burials were 
scarcely any of them lower down than two feet. The burials 
embraced all ages and classes, and remind us of the custom 
among the Indians of burying the personal possessions of the 



328 

individual with the body; pottery, beads and personal ornaments 
with the bodies of children; pipes, spear heads, tomahawks and 
other weapons with the men, and pottery vessels and ornaments 
with the bodies of the women. 

Such is the general description of the cemetery and the 
ash pits. Our readers will realize from it that there was a great 

contrast between these and the altar 
mounds, and will conclude with us 
that two very different periods were 
represented, the one being the period 
of the Mound-builders proper and the 
other the period of the wild or red 
Indian. We think that the same im 
pression will be gained from a study 
of the relics taken from the ash pits. 
IV. We now turn to the description 
of the relics from the graves and ash 
pits. It will be noticed that these 
relics are much ruder than those 

m ff . U.-Lime3ton e Pipe. taken frQm thfi ^^ mounds> though 

they have the same general character, being mainly in the shape 
of pipes, pottery and various copper relics. 

(i.) We begin with the pottery, especially that taken from the 
graves in the cemetery. This pottery seems to have been well 
finished and contains many symmetrical-shaped vessels. There 
is, however, a lack of ornamentation, and so we should place it 
in a lower grade from that which prevailed in the altars. The 
abundance of these vessels, especially of whole vessels, is an- 





Fig. 15. Sandstone Pipe. 

other very remarkable circumstance. It will be remembered that 
the pottery of the altar mounds was all broken, very few of the 
vessels being found complete. Here, however, the broken ves 
sels seem to have been the exception. The pottery is all of 
one general type. It abounds with vessels which are made 
with ears on the outside, (see Fig. 13) the mouth of the vessel 
being drawn in and a wide flange being thrown out, the handle 



329 



being merely a band or strip passing from the flange to the bowl. 
The vessels were generally placed near the head of the skeleton ; 
sometimes a stone pipe would be found in the hand. One vessel 
had a salamander moulded on the outside. See Fig. 12. This 
was found between two skulls; though the occiput of the upper 
skeleton, having been placed upon the vessel, had crushed it, 
Another vessel with a 
salamander was found 
near the feet of a 
skeleton. About 80 
copper beads, 2 inches 
in length, rolled and 
twisted into a spiral 
spring, were found 
strung along the spin 
al column of another 
skeleton. These were 
in graves. In a pit 
were found two rolls of 
copper, five bone beads, a stone skin-dresser, a sandstone pipe, an 
ungrooved axe, and several bone relics. Two pipes and a large 
number of stone and bone relics were taken from another pit. 
A semi-circular piece of copper, through which a large root had 
grown, was taken from another. 

(2.) We next take up the pipes. There were many of these 
found among the graves and in the ash pits, all wrought from 
stone, either sandstone, limestone or catlinite. None of the 
pipes were made from pottery. Some of them are wrought into 
shape so as to be imitative of some animal, either a wolf or pan- 




Fig. 16. Catlinite Pipe. 




Fig. 17. Catlinite Pipe. 

ther, or a bird. Some of them are fashioned into round nodules, 
but have figures of birds inscribed upon the outside in a rude 
way. Some are mere tubes, with a flat bowl raised at one end 
above the tube. All were designed to be used with a stem, the 
hole for the insertion of the stem showing that some large-sized 
wooden mouth-piece had been used, probably just such a mouth 
piece as was common among the later Indians. Not a single 



pipe of the genuine Mound-builders pattern was found, either 
in the graves or the ash pits. 

(3.) Association of skeletons with pipes and pottery. The ma 
jority of these were in the graves, above the pits and near the 
surface, the vessels being near the head of the buried skeleton, the 
pipes near the vessels. This is seen by the following descriptions: 
In one case four crania and four vessels and several flint relics 
were found crowded into a space of less than four feet; in another 
place were seven skeletons, several vessels, and the pipe rep 
resented in Fig. 14; in another place seven crania were uncov 
ered, and with them three broken vessels and the pipe represented 
in Fig. 15; in still another there were five skeletons and the 
pipe of red catlinite in the shape of a tube and flat bowl (see Fig. 
16); another find consisted of shells, ashes, pottery and a stone 





Fig. to. Limestone Pipe. Fig. tl. Limestone Pipe. 

pipe. The skeletons lying horizontally generally had pottery 
vessels near the head. In one case a pottery vessel was found 
near the head and a jasper spear-head in the hand of a skeleton. 
The pipe represented in Fig. 17 was found with a pottery vessel 
near the head of a skeleton. Two skeletons lay across the feet, 
but no relics were with them. A limestone pipe (see Fig. 21) 
was found near the head of a large skeleton, and on the other 
side of the head eight small deer-horn tips, several arrow-points 
and a bone cylinder. One day seven skeletons were found, two 
of them children, and with one of the children the two-story 
pottery vessel, and on another day seven children. With these 
children was a pottery vessel, and in the vessel a piece of shell 
inscribed with dots and cut into notches. Soon after this the 
ash pits which contained shelled corn and ear corn were opened. 
These ash pits contained the bones of animals such as had been 
used for food deer, elk, raccoon, opossum, mink, wood-chuck, 
beaver and turkey. In another ash pit was a pipe representing 



331 

a bear on its haunches. These finds were all remarkable for one 
thing they were full of evidences of a peaceable burial, and in 
fact of a peaceable and industrial life. Very few weapons of war 
were found pipes, domestic tools, food and the vessels for 
cooking the same no coats-of-mail, no military badges, no 
crushed or wounded skulls, but many skeletons of children, 
women and old men. 




. . Inscribed Stone. 



(4.) There are several pipes which remain to be described, 
These have the same shape as those already given, but they 
differ in having figures sketched on the surface. See Figs. 14, 17, 
20, and compare with 22.* These pipes are worthy of study, as 
they represent the art of the people. They seem to have been 
scattered indiscriminately among the graves and ash pits, and 
were the most curious of all the relics. One such pipe was 
found unaccompanied by a skeleton or by any vessel. This is 

*We are indebted to the Society of Natural History of Cincinnati for the use of the 
cuts, and are happy to call attention to the collection of relics in the museum of that 
Society. A full report of the exploration of the Madisonville cemetery may be found 
iu the third volume of the journal published by the Society 



332 



a rare case, pipes generally being found near recumbent skele 
tons and frequently associated with pottery vessels. A finely 
finished pipe, made of dark red catlinite, was found with five 
skeletons in a horizontal position. This pipe is a rude imitation 
of an animal head. Another pipe was taken from an ash pit. It 
had a peculiar form and was made of limestone. Another inter 
esting pipe was found at the head of a skeleton which was hori 
zontal, fifteen inches below the surface. This pipe is made of 
limestone, well finished, and carved to represent the head of the 
panther or wild cat. A copper relic in the shape of a two-barred 
cross was found near the neck of the same skeleton. 

(4.) Shell ornaments and copper rings. One peculiarity of the 
cemetery "finds" is that, while the articles are very rude, they 
are made of different materials copper, shell, bone, horn, pot- 




Fig. %$. Limestone Pipe. 




Fig. 27. Limestone Pipe. 



tery, limestone, sandstone, catlinite, shell, but no articles of gold 
or silver; no lead or mica, or obsidian; no quartz or precious 
stones, or pearls. There were beads and pendants, but these 
were made from shell and bone, never from pearl. The follow 
ing relics were found with the skeleton of a female: Two perfor 
ated shell disks, about the size of a silver dollar, and a pendant 
also made of shell, near the neck. A stone flesher was found 
with this skeleton. "A war arrow-point was also found in one 
of the dorsal vertebrae of a skeleton. This is a rare case, for 
very few of the skeletons sho\v any signs of wounds received in 
battle. Copper rings, finger rings, have been mentioned by Prof. 
Putnam as a rare exception, only one case of the kind being 
mentioned. The rings were still on the finger bones. Agricul 
tural tools made from antlers are common in the ash pits. They 
are "digging" implements. These digging implements must 
not be confounded with the flint hoes or spades common among 



333 

the agricultural races, for they are mere picks made from antlers 
and are very rude. So, too, the copper rings must not be con 
founded with the "copper spools," for no spools have been found 
in the cemetery. 

(5.) An inscribed stone was found among the ash pits. See 
Fig. 22. It was a piece of limestone covered with very rude 
markings, some of them resembling the track of a turkey, others 
the heads of serpents, others the teeth of some animal, all very 
rude and apparently without significance, no symbolism being 
apparent. 

V. We now come to another point, the comparison of the 
relics from the altar mounds with those from the ash pits. We 
have already shown that they were much superior as works of 
art and indicate a much higher grade of culture. This is in 
accordance with the old theory, first advanced by Messrs. Squier 
and Davis, that the Mound-builders were superior to the Indians, 
a theory which we see no reason for rejecting, though we should 
carefully guard it from perversion. This 
theory does not necessarily imply that the 
Mound-builders were a civilized people, nor 
does it even hold that they belonged to a dif 
ferent stock from the modern Indians. The 
difference in the grade of culture is the only 
point which we care to make. The differences 
between the altar pipes and those from the Fig. zi>. copper Bell. 
ash pits are worthy of especial attention. These differences are 
the same as may be recognized between Mound-builders pipes 
and those of the later Indians. They are as follows: ist, the 
altar pipes were all in one piece, and would be called simple 
relics; the pipes from the ash pits, as well as Indian pipes, are 
generally compound relics that is, they consist of two pieces, 
a bowl and a stem. 2d, the altar pipes were generally of the 
"monitor" shape ; the base is curved, the mouth-piece flat, bowl 
round or cylindrical, and the whole carved into some well- 
wrought figure. The pipes from the ash pits have cylinder shapes, 
among them the following: a % the tube with the bowl at the end 
on horizontal line; ,the cylinder with the hole for the stem in the 
side of the bowl ; c, the round nodule; d, the irregular effigy 
pipe. 3d, the altar pipes were symbclic, either with crescents 
and circles embodied in them or with animal effigies, which may 
have been totems. The pipes from the ash pits contain no sym 
bols. If the carved heads were totems,they were very rude, and 
can hardly be called symbolic pipes. The flat circle which rests 
upon the tube of certain pipes might be called symbolic, but on 
these pipes this flat bowl is at various angles and seems to have 
lost its significance as a symbol altogether. 4th, the altar pipes 
never have straight sides or angular corners, but every part is 
well rounded and finely finished. The pipes from the ash pits, 




334 

like many Indian pipes, have sides which look as if they had 
been sawed out, but are otherwise very rude. 5th, the two 
classes of pipes are in great contrast in regard to workmanship. 
The altar pipes have whole figures finished in the round, the birds 
standing out in full shape, the beasts generally with all parts 
complete, though sometimes the head and shoulders only are 
represented. In the ash pits no such pipes were discovered 
Here the animal figures are merely heads, and they are very 
rudely represented in one a simple gash in the side of the tube 
to imitate the mouth, in another a couple of projections to rep 
resent the ears, but no whole figures. Great contrasts are notice 
able in the finish of the 
two classes of relics. In 
the first are lines which 
imitate feathers, wings 
and feet, and even the 
roundness of the feet. In 
the latter are no such 
lines, but everything is 
rude and wrought in the 
easiest way possible. 

We give a series of 
cuts to show thedifferent 
shapes of the pipes. See 
Figs. 8,9, 15, 16. It will 
be noticed that the pipes 
from the ash pits are 
nearly all cylinders 
some of them horizon 
tal, others perpendicular 
but that the pipes from 

altar mounds rarely have the cylinder shape. This distinction 
dees not obtain so thoroughly elsewhere as here, and yet it 
would seem as if the pipes of the Mound-builders and of the 
Indians could be distinguished in this way. 

VI. We now call attention to another class of relics, namely 
the class which has the appearance of being imitations of modern 
historic objects. This is an important point. We have all 
along maintained that the ash pits were among the latest or most 
recent of the prehistoric tokens. We now are to ask the ques 
tion whether some of them were not actually subsequent to the 
historic date. Let us first state that there was after the time 
of the discovery by Columbus at least two hundred years before 
the interior was visited to any extent by white men, and that 
another hundred years passed before the interior began to be 
settled. During this time many missionaries labored among the 
native tribes. As to the tribes which occupied Southern Ohio, 
it is supposed that the Eries were the first, the Shawnees the 




335 

second, the Delawares the third, and the Wyandottes the fourth, 
all of them, however, wild Indians. Now which of these tribes 
made this particular spot their home we may not determine, but 
our opinion is that perhaps both the Shawnees and Delawares 
may be credited with the relics of which we are about to speak. 
We take up the different relics as they were discovered and place 
these modern-looking specimens by themselves, and ask the 
question, How came the semblances, except that there was a 
contact with the white man somewhere? First, let us take up 
the sleigh-bell. See Fig. 24. This was found in the grave of a 
little child. It was made of a single piece of copper folded to 
gether in the shape of a little hawk-bell, and furnished with a 
rude handle. There was inside of it a bit of copper about as 
big as a pea. The bell had a musical tinkle to it. It was evi 
dently a toy, and was buried with the 
child as one of its possessions. Next 
to this is the vase represented in Fig. 
25. This vase is very rude, but it is 
in imitation of a modern vase, or pos 
sibly of the chalice. Its upper part 
is, to be sure, in the shape of a com 
mon cooking vessel, and retains the 
ear and rim, but the base is that of a 
modern goblet or chalice. It suggests 
a contact with the white man. The 
third specimen differs from the others. 
It is in the shape of a heavy, rude, 
coarse comb. It was made from elk- 
horn. It was found in an ash pit. It Fig. w. Eagle ripe. 
shows the domestic habits of the people, and reminds us of their 
wild life. The fourth relic is one which again reminds us of the 
missionary who is supposed to have been the first white man 
who gave a modern pattern to an Indian relic. This relic is in 
the shape of a double-barred cross. It is of copper, and has an ap 
pearance as if it had been used as a crucifix. It may have belonged 
to some devout female, who was too poor to own a silver crucifix 
and therefore manufactured one from copper. This cross *was 
found in a grave in contact with a body and associated with the 
panther pipe which ha? been mentioned above. The resemblance 
to the modern catechumen s cross is the strange thing about it. 
The next is a pipe with the image of the spread eagle sketched 
on the outside. See Fig. 26. This pipe was not found in ? a pit 
but on the surface, having been rooted up by hogs whichj,were 
in the lot. It is a sandstone pipe, and is quite rude, but the eagle 
reminds one of the spread eagle, which is purely modern. 

There are relics which have a modern look. One is represented 
in Fig. 27. It is a limestone pipe picked up on the surface 
This pipe has straight sides and beveled angles, and reminds us 




336 

of some remarkable relics which purport to come from the State 
of Michigan, but have been regarded as fraudulent relics. It is 
possible that some wandering tribe had dropped this specimen 
here and that the same tribe wrought the Michigan relics. We 
have spoken of the iron axe found between two graves in this 
cemetery. This axe must have been made by a white man, and 
proves that some of the relics at least were deposited after the 
advent of the whites. 

This subject of modern-looking relics may give rise to dis 
cussion, for there seems to be a diversity of opinion on it. We 
here quote from different authors. Prof. Putnam found a relic 
resembling the cro3s in Tennessee, but he says of it: "The cross 
like form might give rise to the question of its derivation. Had 
any article of European make, such as glass beads or brass 
buttons, been found, I should consider the form of the ornament 
the result of contact with the early missionaries. But from the 
absence of articles denoting such contact, I think it must be 
placed in the same category as the well-known cross at Palenque." 
Mr. C. F. Low also says of the relics in the cemetery: "Nothing 
has ever been found in situ which shows any evidence of asso 
ciation with European races." Prof. J. T. Short compares the 
relics to those of other aborigines, and says : " As regards the 
races to which the people belonged, whether to the stone grave 
people, as the crania would indicate, or whether they were the 
last remnants of the powerful nation who built Fort Ancient 
and other great works these and similar inquiries remain un 
answered." Still, we would say that the various relics, th 
copper sleigh-bells, the catlinite pipes, and the two-barred cross, 
were all found in situ, and they seem to indicate a contact \\ith 
the whites. 

It is to be remembered the cemetery was near mounds, that 
large trees were growing on this ground, and that some of the 
bodies were found underneath the very roots of these trees, 
showing that at least some of the burials must have been many 
years ago, probably before even the time of the discovery. If 
this is the case, then we have a history contained in the cemetery 
which covers three or four hundred years, and back of the cem 
etery another history in the altar mounds, which cover several 
centuries more, and so in the two classes of remains may find a 
record for perhaps a thousand years. 



337 



CHAPTER XVII. 



RELICS SHOWING THE CIVILIZATION OF THE 
MOUND-BUILDERS.* 

The subject which we have taken for this chapter is one over 
which there has been much controversy and concerning which 
there is even now much difference of opinion. The civilization 
of the Mound-builders at one time was supposed to be nearly 
or quite equal to that of the ancient races, and the expectation 
was that the people would be discovered as immigrants into 
this continent who were identical with some of those known to 
history. Theories were advanced as to the Phoenicians, the 
Babylonians, Egyptians; and resemblances were traced in the 
relics and pottery faces which aroused imagination and gave 
rise to much conjecture. The opinion became wide-spread 
that the lost tribes had gained a home in this distant land, and 
from this came the strange delusion of that immense system of 
imposture, the Mormon religion. Latterly the thought has 
gone to the other extreme The civilization of the Mound- 
builders has been confounded with that of the wild Indians. 
All civilization has been denied them; their works and relies 
have been ascribed to the various tribes which had their abode 
on the land where they are found, the difference between the 
earlier and the later tokens completely set aside and new tokens 
have been dilligently sought for, until it has become a fixed 
conclusion with many that the cult of the Mound-builder and 
the Indian are exactly identical, and the two classes of people 
exactly the same. 

Now, we have no especial controversy with the advocates of 
this theory, but desire to present a few facts which will show 
that there is another side to the question. We believe that the 
migration of the Indians would preclude all dogmatic assertion 
as to the identity of the Mound-builders with any known tribe; 
that the succession of periods of occupation also requires us to 
separate the tokens from one another, and distinguish between 
the works and relics of the early and later people, and that the 
interests of science demand that we still keep our minds in sus 
pense as to the question whether there may not be hidden away 
in the depths of the mounds the evidences which will yet prove 

*This chapter is made up largely of extracts from an article published in The 
American Antiquarian for May, 1891. 



338 

a contact with civilized races during pre-historic times. Strange 
reverses take place. The case has not gone so far but that a 
single discovery well authenticated might turn the scale back, 
and the coviction would become strong that the touch of civil 
ized man was still to be recognized. We are aware that at 
present all such evidences are immediately explained away as 
soon as they arise, and the advent of the white man is regard 
ed as sufficient to account for every strange thing; but when 
winged figures and other tokens are taken from the depths of 
pyramid mounds, when bastion forts are associated with ancient 
burials, when eastern symbols are found in the midst of western 
relics, and the strangest contrasts are manifest between the fin 
ished ornaments and the rude relics, and so many tokens come 
before us which seem out of place when in the hands of any 
Indian known to history, we must pause and think twice before 
we deny the assertion that possibly these came from contact 
with some foreign country in pre-Columbian times. 

In reference to the question whether civilization actually ob 
tained among the Mound-builders, we would say the term is an 
indefinite one. Technically speaking, we suppose that no 
American race could be called civilized. Civilization came in 
with the iron age, and so belongs only to the historic races. In 
America the people were chiefly in the stone age, though bor 
dering on the bronze. Still we have fallen into the habit of 
calling some of the American races civilized, and we see no 
good reason for discontinuing the term. The inhabitants of 
Peru and Central America, as well as those of Mexico, are 
supposed to have reached a stage of civilization which, were it 
not for the absence of iron, would overlap the early conditions 
of the historic lands, and it does not seem wise to make our 
selves so arbitrary as to deny the word to them. The Pueblos 
and other tribes of the great plateau were in a stage of ad 
vancement which warrants us in calling them semi-civilized, 
and yet the Pueblos never passed through the bronze age, and 
so far as we know were even without the use of copper. The 
Mound-builders and the people of the Mississippi Valley would 
naturally be called uncivilized, and yet some of them seem to 
have been so far advanced that it is a question which exceeded, 
they or the Pueblos of the west. The Indians are generally 
called savages, but many arguments have been advanced to 
prove that they were fully equal to the Mound-builders, and the 
name is freely applied to the Pueblos and even to the civilized 
races of Mexico and the Central provinces. It seems to be, 
hen, largely a question of words. If we confine civilization to 
the historic countries we certainly cannot ascribe any degree of 
it to the Mound-builders. If, on the contrary, we use the term 
Indian to mean what Columbus discovered, we might take in both 
continents and call all the inhabitants of the East and West 
Indias and of North and South America all Indians; but it 





PLATE I. POTTEKY FBOM ASH PITS. 



340 




PLATE II.-POTTERY VESSELS AND PIPES FROM ASH PITS. 



341 

seems better to take the words in the popular sense, and then 
speak of the American race as we do of the Asiatic or of the 
European: to admit that there were different grades of civili 
zation existing among them. 

In commencing our search into the social condition of the 
Mound-builders, and keeping in View the main question in 
volved do they in themselves yield positive or even circum 
stantial evidence of an actual or apparent degree of civilization 
these three qualifications must ever be kept in sight: i, the 
locality in which they are found; 2, the material of which they 
consist; 3, the age to which they are to be assigned. 

With these also must be carried throughout a comparison 
with the facts known and positive in the universal history of 
civilization among other races. 

I. The localities in which the mounds are discovered are as 
varied as the length and breadth of this continent can make 
them; beginning up in the cold climate of British Columbia, 
through the temperate zone, where the best energies of mankind 
most surely develop, down to the luxurious ease of the tropics 
all around the gulf shore into Mexico. But throughout the 
whole range which this broad outline includes there is invaria 
bly a marked, strong peculiarity. A national taste is shown in 
the selection of sites; always selected, never stumbled upon hap 
hazard ; and while surroundings of scener} 7 and climate greatly 
influence character, the settlements made by these people were 
permanent villages, whether beside rivers, in fertile plains, in 
agrieultural or pasture lands. None nave been found in the 
Atlantic States, nor in Canada north of the great lakes, because, 
as I think, the savages were there. The sites most known are 
on the Ohio, the Missouri and the Mississippi, but it is best to 
take them regularly, and commence at the northwest. 

A British Columbia paper of 1872 describes a mound twenty- 
five miles from Olympia, with smaller ones scattered over an 
area of fifteen miles. Wilkes, in his exploring expedition, de 
scribes groups of them in the Butte prairies of Oregon, many 
thousand in number. Many of these are small hillocks in close 
proximity, clusters of hundreds at a place, as though for settle 
ments or encampments hastily thrown up, or built so close for 
warmth or for protection from wild animals, or from possibility 
of attack from previous owners of the land. As these necessi 
ties or fears vanish, other needs and necessities arise; instinct 
as well as increase urges their advance inland, and we find the 
mounds rapidly changing into distinct branches and systematic 
organizations. The Denver News, 1873, states a mound had 
been lately opened in Utah, yielding relics of great artistic 
skill. "Others are found on Big Horn River. Half a mile 
west of Golden City, Colorado, are the remains of a laid-out 
city; on the Yellowstone River is a regular city of mounds, 
streets regular and mounds equidistant; eighty-seven mounds 



342 

in good condition, sixty-three in ruins. Other settlements are 
on the banks of the Moreau and of the Great Cheyenne."* 
Mr. Bertrandt states such remains are found at the mouth of the 
Yellowstone and Upper Missouri, near Clark s Creek, Dakota. 
Further east, along the States bordering on the Upper Lakes, 
but always tending southward, are the peculiar shapes of 
animals, like huge relievos, or sometimes in intaglio, large 
settlements in the rich, prolific lands of Wisconsin. In Michi 
gan are the garden beds, where fruit and vegetables grow so 




luxuriantly in the light sandy soil of that country during the 
comparatively short summer. In Northern Indiana there are 
fields from ten to one hundred acres, "running," as some one 
has pointed out, "in different directions as if one family had a 
separate patch." 

The animal shape is occasionally found further south than Ohio, 
but there in the broad level, well watered and sufficiently wooded 
lands, where the really important villages seem to have been 
built, we find the outlines of the mounds most distinctly regu 
lar, very exact in measurement, very much larger, and of con 
sequence enough to be protected by embankments, showing, 
also, that there where they had the largest cities, they also met 
toes wild, unscrupulous and inscrutable. Of these mounds in 



*Mr. James I>ean states that nnny mounds are to be seen in British Columbia 
strongly resembling those in the Mississippi Valley. 



343 

Ohio, Squier and Davis particularly point out that their remark 
able distinction is in the perfection of figures in which the erec 
tions are made; and those writers hold it as an incontestable 
proof that they who planned them possessed a standard of 
measurement, and an exact means of determining angles. "It 
has been ascertained that the circular enclosures are perfect 
circles, and the squares perfect squares, constructed with a geo 
metrical precision which implies a knowledge in the architects 
that we should call scientific."! At Hopetown, Ohio, at Liberty, 
Ohio, the exactness of the measurements are unquestionable; 
Pike county is a square within a circle, as well as many others. 




Fig. 1.- Fortified Villages of the Mound-Builders.] 

The mounds abruptly stop with the Alleghanies, and we 
follow their direction southward. In Tennessee, where the 
Cumberland mountains terminate, near the Tuscumbia and 
Florence, and the mouth of the Big Black River, a large tract 
of country along the valleys of these rivers was once densely 
peopled. The Mound-builers were undoubtedly at work there ; 
but it must be equally understood, that as they crossed the 
Ohio and traveled south ward, they mingled, either peaceably or 
forcibly, with another civilized people, those who had spread 
up from Central America, because the tumuli, in many in 
stances, are not only truncated pyramids, like those of Mexico 
and Central America, but are carefully planned with their lines 



tAncient Monuments. 



344 





PLATE III. POTTERY AND SHELL ORNAMENTS. 



345 

by the cardinal points. Another definite proof of this is given in 
the November number of THE AMERICAN ANTIQARIAN in the 
"Inscribed Shells from Tennessee", bearing a striking similarity 
to the figures carved on the ruins at Palenque. 

The great southern country, lying between the Potomac and 
Ohio, on the north, the Gulf, on the south, the Atlantic, on the 
east, and stretching west beyond the Mississippi, is also the 
site of innumerable mounds. With the usual indifference of all 
the early travelers, to everything save the search for gold, no 
discrimination was made between the dwellers in the south and 
any "other Indian tribe". But the incidental allusions and the 
descriptions of Spanish and other early writers help us to see, 
partly, that which, had they not been so blinded, might then 
have been clear and comprehensible. 

Garcillasso de la Vega, in his account of De Soto s raid across 
the country, among other things, says: "The houses of the 
chiefs were, with scarcely an exception, built on large, elevated 
artificial mounds, large enough to sustain the houses of the 
chief and family, making quite a little town of itself. At the 
foot a large square was marked out, around which the great 
warriors built their houses. The inferior classes put up their 
dwellings beyond and around. Some of the mounds had sev 
eral stairways, made by cutting inclined planes, fifteen or 
twenty feet wide, flanking the sides with posts, and laying 
poles horizontally across the earthen steps to form a wooden 
stairway. But generally the lofty residence of the great ruler 
was approached by only one flight of steps. The mounds were 
steep and otherwise inaccessible." 

At one time, De Soto was met by a chief with five hundred 
warriors, who escorted him to a town containing three hundred 
houses, that of the chief being on an elevated mound, surrounded 
by a terrace wide enough for six men to walk abreast. 

At the great town of Chiaha, the chief offered the Spaniards 
twenty barns full of corn, quantities of bear s oil kept in gourds, 
walnut oil as clear and appetizing as butter, nd pots of honey. 

With regard to their manufactures "it is readily conceded 
that the Southern Indians exceed all others in the ceramic art: 
the women knew how to make earthen vessels so large and 
fine our potters with their wheels can make no finer." 
"Amongst them we do not find the women condemned to do 
all the work; the men had their share of the hard labor, but 
the women were experts in weaving handsome carpets. They 
passed the woof with a shuttle, using a couple of threadles with 
the hand, like weavers before machinerv was used."* Every 
description of these people, evidences in their religion, in their 
buildings, in their customs, a civilization partly fallen into 

*Harcot s Virginia. 



346 

desuetude rather than a merely advanced stage of the wild, 
untutored savage. Some of the earliest travelers called them 
the Muscogees, but the English when they first began to ex 
plore the country called them Creeks, because they invariably 
dwelt in the lovely valleys on the banks of the streams running 
in all directions over the country. 

In that word "dwelt," we note the distinguishing line betwixt 
them and the " Indian," whose wandering propensities are the 
inevitable and inalienable indication of his race. After the 
Spanish raid through the southern country, the disheartened 
remnant of the inhabitants would become an easy prey to the 
warlike Indians of the Atlantic, probably the same who had 
driven their ancestors from Ohio; and" thus account for the 
mixture or varieties of tribes spoken of by the early travelers 
and writers ot the southern lands. 




Fig. 2. Mississippi Pottery. 

II. Material used by Mound-builders. Time and climate hav 



ing beaten on them for several centuries, all whether ori; 
made so or not have become rounded and covered with earth 
and grass so as to give the appearance of natural hillocks, 
which originated the name. But the shapes, as already men 
tioned, have since been found to be very varied, as well as very 
exact in their measurements, when they reach the Central 
States. In these States they are not only much larger, but are 
also surrounded by earth-works, as though for defense, having 
apparently made permament settlements and finding to their 
cost warlike Indians on their northern and eastern sides ever 
ready for unheralded attacks. The embankments are some 
times around single mounds, which would possibly have been a 
temple or important building; some are around a cluster, evi 
dently enclosing a village or town; a ditch or fosse is sometimes 
inside, sometimes outside, undoubtedly a double guard to a 
temple or a cemetery, to their crops, or to a circle for their 
national games. Lines of embankments, from five to thirty 
feet in height, enclosing from one to fifty acres, are common; 
those from 100 to 200 acres are sometimes found. The material 
used in building was evidently that nearest at hand. Being 
an agricultural people, they would fell trees to clear the land, 



347 



and use the wood to make palisades or pillars to support the 
foundations ot earth, or to frame into the lintels of the door 
ways. "On the coasts of Florida the houses were built of 
timber, covered with, palm leaves and thatched with straw. 
Those further inland were covered with reeds, in the manner 
of tiles, while the walls were extremely neat. In the colder 
regions, a little farther north, every family possessed a house 
daubed inside and out with clay for a winter house, and another 

open all round for summer. 
The houses of the chiefs 
were large, had piazzas in 
front and in the rear, with 
cane benches of comforta 
ble dimensions. They also 
had lofts, in which were 
stored skins, mantles and 
corn. In one house was 
found a tabor with golden 
bells. One remarkable tem 
ple, 100 feet in length and 
forty feet in width, with 

. S.-Banner Stone from the Stone Graves, high 




in proportion, 

had a steep roof covered with mats of split cane, interwoven as 
compactly as the rush carpeting of the Moors. The temple was 
entered by three gates, at each of which were stationed gigantic 
wooden statues, presenting 
fierce attitudes. Some were 
armed with clubs, maces, 
canoe paddles and copper 
hatchets; others with drawn, 
bows and long pikes. All 
were ornamented with strings 
of pearls and bands of cop 
per. In niches round the 
walls were wooden figures of 
men and women, natural size; 
on the sides of the walls were 
benches, on which lay the 
boxes containing dead chiefs 
and their families, with their 
families below them, shields of various sizes between them. 
Chests with valuable pearls and valuable mantles of feathers 
were in the center of the building, as well as in an adjoining 
store house."* If all these wooden buildings have long since 
disappeared, how much more reasonable that the house which 
their ancestors had used and forsaken further north, centuries 
before, are entirely dissolved into their mother earth, with most 
of their human occupants. 

*Bartram s Travels. 




Fig. U. Banner Stone. 




348 



At Seltzertown, Mississippi, is a mound six hundred feet long, 
four hundred feet wide, forty feet high, its level summit having 
an area of four acres; there was a ditch around it, and near it 
a smaller mound. "The north side of this mound is supported 
by a wall of sun-dried brick two feet thick, filled with grass, 
rushes and leaves." Here were also angular tumuli, with 
corners still quite perfect, "formed of large bricks bearing the 
impression of human hands." In Louisiana, near the Trinity, 
there is a large enclosure "partially faced with sun-dried bricks 
of large size."* 

Again I suggest that if bricks were found there, they were 

probably the material 
used with wood and 
earth in the buildings 
farther north, put up by 
an agricultural people 
and forsaken by them 
centuries previous, when 
forced to move south, 
eifher from internecine 
quarrels or incessant at- 
tacks of their wild ene 
mies. 

Within the mounds 
have been discovered ar 
ticles of domestic as well 
as war-like use, of re 
ligious worship as well 
as personal adornment; and in this investigation it must be 
remembered that the "Indians" have roamed at will over these 
lands during the many centuries since the b"ilders left them, 
hunting and fishing, lighting their fires and burying their dead, 
no doubt with some admixture of the knowledge and of the 
customs they had seen and the companionship of the prisoners 
they had taken. Amongst the variety of articles found are, of 
course, the universal arrow-heads; some of them of fine work 
manship, cut in jasper and chalcedony, as well as obsidian and 
chert: spears and knives, chisels, axes, awls. At Salline River, 
near Salt Springs, kettles have been found, which were evidently 
moulded in basket-work, for the pattern on them is very regular 
and ornamental. Pottery is everywhere. In Missouri were 
found water-coolers, having human figures with intelligent faces, 
not of the Indian cast of countenance. Pestles and discoidal 
implements of exact finish are abundant, and in Professor Cox s 
collection at Indianapolis is a piece of amber-colored translucent 
quartz, which some one has described "as being symmetrically 
grained and polished in a way that would now require a wheel 




Fig. 5. Pottery from the Moqui Pueblos. 



*Baldwin states this on the authority of Dr. M. W. Dickeson. 



349 



and diamond dust." In some mounds have been found pieces 
of fabrics which, though coarse, are woven with care and reg 
ularity, with threads of uniform exactness, for the making of 
which are also found the shuttles of various sizes, well finished 
gauges and weights to regulate sizes and keep the threads taut. 

We give cuts to illustrate this point. See plates. Our read 
ers will notice that the pottery from the ash pits, which are 
supposed to be modern, is quite rude, and that the pottery of 
the stone graves is much superior. 

One or two still more remarkable things have been turned up 
from mounds in various parts. In the mound in Virginia were 
many specimens of 
mica. The only mica 
mines were in North 
Carolina. 

From the mounds 
have also been dug up 
quantities of copper 
and copper imple 
ments and ornaments 
all over the country. 
Moreover it is always 
one peculiar kind of 
copper, having spots 
of pure silver studding 
the face of it, as if nat 
ural to it not alloyed 
with it. Copper of 
this peculiarity is 
found only in the cop 
per beds of Lake Superior. No settlements have been found 
near the mines of Lake Superior. The geological report to 
the national government describes these old mines as being 
chiefly surface work that is, the surface of the veins was 
worked in open pits and trenches. The Minnesota mine, in 
Upper Michigan, was only excavated thirty feet, and here "Mr. 
Knapp discovered a detached mass of copper weighing six 
tons. It lay upon a cob-work of round logs or skids, six or 
eight inches in diameter, the ends of which showed plainly the 
marks of a small axe or cutting tool. They soon shriveled 
when exposed to the air. The mass of copper had been raised 
several feet, along the foot of the lode on timbers, by means of 
wedges."* This was in 1848, and old trees, showing 395 rings 
of annual growth, stood in the debris, and the fallen and de 
cayed trunks of trees of a former generation were lying across 
the pits. In Michigan, also, were the garden beds for the quick 
growing supplies of summer food. Is not the inference clear 




Fig. 6. Pottery from the Stone Graves. 



*Baldwin. 



350 

that the "Mound-builders," having found these mines on their 
journey south, and requiring such material, would send up every 
summer a party of workmen for their suppMes; and, being an 
agricultural people, yet needing the copper for their implements, 
they would manifest exactly what one writer expressly says of 
these Michigan mines, "The old mines everywhere show the 
strange peculiarities ol both knowledge and lack of knowledge." 
The miners tools which were found have been a matter of 
wonder to the archaeologist ever since the discovery. 

The different material of which the mounds are formed, as 
well as their shape and their relative position, show their differ 
ent intent and purpose. While some were lodge buildings, or 
residences of the rulers, or temples, others were altar mounds, 
which were of burnt clay, of fine material, and often brought 
from a distance. At Mound City, Chillicothe, Ohio, there were 
found two layers of limestone, chipped in the form of discs and 
spear-heads, six hundred of them. In another mound the costly 
offerings of the most highly finished pipes and other ornaments. 

It has ever been the custom with civilized people, as well as 
barbarians, to bury articles of value with the dead. The Scyth 
ians, the Egyptians, the Indians, the Aryans of the Vedas, the 
Jews, the Greeks, the Christians, all have done it. We find it 
no less among the Mound-builders. All did it, according to the 
customs of race, from the old Chaldean sceptre, the Egyptian 
obolus, to pay the trip across the black lake, down to our pres 
ent funeral wrtath; changed in token and in signification, but 
nowhere broken in historic sequence. Therefore, it is as much 
a sign of civilization as of a wild Indian to find the links of 
earthly habits laid beside the bones of the Mound-builders, when 
their spirits had fled to the Happy Land. I have already pointed 
out the importance of remembering the effect of time and cli 
mate, especially in this country, when sun and air seem to take 
more rapid effect, both in growth and decay of the natural 
world, than in other parts, and supposing these mounds were 
left eight hundred or a thousand years ago, is it wonderful no 
more evidence of their inhabitants is left? In approaching the 
south and towards Mexico, where they mix with the stone- 
building nation from Central America, walls and ruins are still 
standing. Moreover the southern settlements were probably 
the latest in existence. If it be asked why no remains of 
masonry and stone-work are to be found amongst the ruins of 
the mounds in the Central and Southern States, the answer is 
that a pastoral people were not hewers of stone; and for the 
reason that their sites were in agricultural lands and they would 
not be where stone quarries were available. In this country 
wood in abundance was at hand ; but when the settlements were 
left it would decay, and if bricks were used they, too, would 
crumble into dust. 

III. The subject of resemblances comes next. It was custom- 



351 

ary in Asiatic countries to build the cities on an elevation, the 
whole city surrounded by an embankment and a deep ditche 
sometimes only the palace, the temple and the important build 
ings were elevated. When Layard first found Nineveh it was 
only a varied accumulation ot mounds, though ot course in that 
instance some of the solid foundation was beneath. Yet it was 
only the great cities which had such durable foundations. Many 
a mound that marked an ancient dwelling has been tramped 
over unnoticed by the armies of the successive nations that have 
held sway over the great belt of Central Asia. Here then a 
pastoral people came to dwell, and to imitate in their way and 
with available means the dwellings of their own old lands, or 
of the haughty nations in the midst of whom their ancestors 
had lived, only the wild native and the wild nature had in their 
fitful moods obliterated by degrees the tangible proofs of such 
existence, and left only the mounds of earth in their place. 

Professor Davidson says he has seen arrow-heads from the 
eastern hemisphere exactly similar to those of the western. 
Other implements found here are exactly such as are described 
in use by the ancient nations of the orient. 

If the natives of the south, when De Soto first invaded them, 
were dwelling in houses.built on mounds, with wooden stairways, 
supports, etc., and having large stores of corn, of oil, of honey, 
as well as of woven fabrics, of copper and of pearl, and if some 
of them have traditions and picture writings of long wanderings 
and various settlements, is it not within the limits ot probability 
that their ancestors were once from the Old World? 

The point that we make is that back of the Indians compar 
ative rude condition was the higher condition of the Mound- 
builders, but back of the Mound-builders was a civilization 
which so closely resembles that found in historic lands as to 
give rise to the idea that it may have originated in those lands. 
We do not undertake to say how it came into this far-off region 
nor by what routes, and yet it does not seem possible that the 
resemblances could be so great unless there was a filtering at 
least of these old time-honored conditions. The routes may 
indeed have been from different directions the pyramid-builders 
from the far southwest, and originally from the distant Asiatic 
coast; the serpent-worshipers from the distant east or northeast, 
and originally from the European continent; the tomb-builders 
and hunters from the northwest, and originally from the Mon 
golian regions; the military classes and the villagers of the 
central district may either come from the northwest or the 
northeast; yet whatever the route, and howsoever distant the 
original source we can not fail to see very close analogies. The 
supposition with some is that these are merely accidental; they 
are all to be accounted for on the ground of parallel develop 
ment. But to others they have been so striking as to give rise 
to the strangest theories, concerning which we have spoken. 



352 

This is to be considered, too, in this connection, that the farther 
back we go the more striking do the resemblances seem. These 
resemblances are, to be sure, explained by some as the result ot 
very recent contact with the white man, but by others as the 
result of pre-Columbian contact with foreign countries, and this 
seems to us the more reasonable explanation. 

It is noticeable that we have not only the modern-looking 
forts, such as the one on the Tennessee River, with bastions 
scattered along its walls at intervals of about eighty feet, and 
with re-entering angles exactly like the European forts, but in 
side of the enclosure we find the earth pyramies and regular 
burial mounds, which in all respects resemble the Mound-build 
ers works. In the same region we also find stone forts, built 
after an aboriginal pattern, with gateways arranged in angles 
similar to the Toltec gateways. See cut p. 342. We have also 
from the same region pottery, containing many portraits, which 
remind us ot nearly all the civilized races, but among these 
faces are others which are purely aboriginal. We find in the 
southern district also various ornamented banner stones, with 
the Greek fret plainly depicted on them, but more exact orna 
ments of the same pattern are found in the pottery vessels from 
the Moqui pueblos in Arizona, and still more exact patierns and 
regular figures may be seen on the front of the Governors 
House in Uxmal, in Central America. The looped pattern may 
also be seen on the pottery of Mississippi, as well as on the 
various shell gorgets of the stone graves, reminding us always 
of similar pattnrns common in civilized countries. We find 
tablets and gorgets which contain all of the symbols common 
in oriental lands, such as the cross, the suastika, the fire gener 
ator, the serpent, the tree, the crescent, the sun circle, the horse 
shoe, the owl and the dragon; but with these are figures purely 
aboriginal, and which could uot have originated elsewhere than 
among the Indians. We find in one case in the Davenport 
tablet inscribed figures which, if genuine, prove a phonetical 
alphabet to have been known, but in the Thruston tablet the 
figures are so extremely rude as to give rise to the idea that 
none but an Indian could have devised and inscribed them. The 
winged figures spoken of as found in the Georgia pyramids 
remind us of historic and oriental art forms, but the relics from 
the same mound were evidently of native workmanship. So 
with all the works and relics, a strange mixture of foreign pat 
terns with native execution, always suggesting to us that in 
some way the touch of civilization was still preserved, notwith 
standing the prevalence of barbarism or savagery on all sides. 

We give illustrations of these points in the cuts furnished 
herewith. See Figs, i, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The first represents 
the ancient forts on the Tennessee River. The mounds within 
the fort contained many charred logs and various flues and fur 
naces, giving the idea that they may have been the remains of 



353 

houses. The other figures represent the pottery of the Southern 
Mound-builders. It was fully equal to the pottery of the ancient 
Puebloes and in many respects equal to that of the civilized races. 

IV. As to the social status of the prehistoric villages, we may 
say that they represent three distinct grades, the first being the 
upper stage of savagery, the second the lower stage of barbarism, 
the third the semi-civilized condition. 

Mr. L. H. Morgan has divided the ethnical periods savagery, 
barbarism and civilization into sub-periods, making a lower, 
middle and upper condition of savagery, and a lower, middle 
and upper condition of barbarism; he has placed the village 
Indians upon one side of a line, assigning them to the lower 
status of barbarism, but the "partially village Indians" upon the 
other side of the line, assigning them to the upper status of 
savagery. It is, however, a question whether the term "partially 
village Indians" should be used, for village life prevailed among 




Fig. 7. Frog Pipe from Indiana. 

all classes. What the author means is, the hunter Indians occu 
pied temporary villages, while the Pueblos of the far West 
occupied the more permanent villages and were thoroughly 
organized upon the communistic plan. We would, however, 
place a class between the two and identify them with the Mound- 
builders, making their villages the test by which we ascertain 
the difference between these three classes. This difference con 
sists not so much in the fact that that they represented different 
modes of life or different grades of advancement, as that they 
represented different styles of architecture, different styles of art, 
and different systems of religion, as well as different localities, or 
habitats. By this means we are able to classify the villages. 

We classify the grades by the villages. I . We place the stockade 
villages in the first grade, and divide the people into hunters, 
warriors and nomads. 2. The extensive earth-works which are 
found in the Middle and Southern States, embody the Mound- 
builders villages. We ascribe these to the second grade, and divide 



354 



the people into horticultural, agricultural and sedentary classes, 
giving each a different class of works. 3. The Pueblos, who used 
adobe or stone, and built their villages in terraces, we assign 
to the third grade. They may be divided into three classes. 
Those who erected their pueblos in the valleys, and those who 
placed their villages on the mesas and defended them by their 
location; and those who placed their houses on the sides of 
the cliffs, thrusting their villages into the niches, making the 





Fig, 8. Stone Pulleys from the Stone Graves. 

defense which the cliffs furnished the chief object. These culti 
vated the soil by irrigation, had domestic animals and practiced 
the art of weaving. Their pottery was highly ornamented and 
their symbolism was elaborate. 

But all of the more ancient races, Mound-builders, Cliff-dwell 
ers and Pueblos, seem to have been invaded by hordes of wild 
tribes who either drove them from their original seats or shut 
them up in their fortresses and finally reduced them to a 
decimated state, their territory being limited, their advancement 
hindered by the constant pressure of their enemies. The initial 
point of the migration of these later races is unknown, though 
according to later investigation there seems to have been three 
centers: ist. The valley of the Columbia, the seat of the wild 




Fig. 9. Flint Hoes from Tennessee. 

tribes, such as the Apaches, Comanches, etc., that crowded down 
upon the Cliff-dwellers and Pueblos and drove them from their 
ancient possessions. 2d, The peninsula between Lake Superior 
and Michigan, the seat of the Ojibwas and Athabascans, the 
nursery land of the many Algonquin tribes which spread over 
the entire region between the great lakes and the Ohio River and 
drove the Mound- builders from their possessions. 3d. The 
region north of the St. Lawrence River, the nursery grounds of 
the Iroquois tribes. 



355 




Fig. 10. Barrel Shaped Disc. 



The cultivation of maize and plants tended to localize some of 
these tribes, so that the Iroquois, the Cherokees, and at one 
time the Dakotas, were established in smaller areas and rapidly 
grew into the condition of advanced village Indians; but these 
are the only regions in North America that can be called natural 

centers of subsistence and the 
natural sources of the migrat 
ing tribes of hunters, nomads 
and warriors. 

Whether these various stocks 
of Indians, which are now so 
well known as coming from 
the same locality and related 
to one another in language, 
originated on the continent, is 
very uncertain. All that we 
know about them is, that when 
they became known to his 
tory they seem to have had 
all grades of culture, all styles 
of architecture, all modes of life, and all systems of religion, 
which both differed among themselves and also differed from 
those which seemed to have existed in the central regions before 
they reached them. Whether we are to class the Mound- 
builders among the older races and assign them all to a different 
stock from the Indians is now the problem. This much we may 
do we may assign to them a 
cultus which was peculiar, and 
may take the mound-building 
age as the one in which that 
cultus prevailed. This we do 
with the Pueblos, the Cliff- 
dwellers and with the civilized 
races who have left their an 
cient cities in the central prov 
inces, even when we trace their 
descendants in the native 
tribes which still survive, and 
there is no reason why we 
should not, in the case of the M9 n - cloth from a Mound in Ohi0 * 
ancient inhabitants of the Mississippi valley. We divide the 
entire continent into different districts, in which all grades ot 
society are represented, placing the lower condition of savagery 
among the ice fields of the North, making fish subsistence the 
chief test; the middle status of savagery, we place in the forest 
regions about Hudson s Bay and north of the great lakes, making 




*The cuts on this and adjoining pages represent the industrial arts of the Mound- 
builders. 



356 



subsistence upon game the test; the upper status of savagery 
we assign to the head-waters of the Mississippi and along both 
sides of the great lakes and as far south as the Ohio River, 
making subsistence upon game and the occasional use of cereals 
the test. 

This leaves to us all the lower part of the Mississippi valley 
for the people who were in the lower status of barbarism, and 
who gained their subsistence partly by hunting and mainly by 
the cultivation of the maize, whom we call the Mound-builders. 
The middle status of barbarism, according to Mr. Morgan, was 
marked by cultivation, by irrigation, use of domestic animals, 
and was occupied by the village Indians of New Mexico and the 
ancient Pueblos and Cliff-dwellers. The upper status of bar 
barism, which in Europe was marked by the manufacture of 
bronze, in America was, according to Mr. Morgan, occupied by 





Fig. IS Monitor Pipes from Ohio and Iowa. 

the Aztecs. Civilization commenced with the use of the alpha 
bet, manufacture of iron, and building with sculptured stone, and 
was in America occupied by the Toltecs, Nahuas, Mayas, and 
the ancient inhabitants of Peru. To these may be ascribed the 
ancient cities of Central America in which pyramids, and palaces, 
shrines and temples were very common, and idol pillars were the 
best specimens of art. 

The history of social development is also learned from the 
relics; those from each part of the continent illustrate a different 
period of advancement. We take up the relics as they come to 
us from the different parts of the continent, and we read in them 
a story about the progress of mankind and see striking illustra 
tions of the different periods or stages. Mr. Morgan has given 
us some hints as to the line of progress and as to the tests. He 
says: Through the long period of savagery stone and bone 
implements, cane and splint baskets, skin garments, the village 
consisting of clustered houses, boatcraft, including bark and 
dug-out canoes, the spear pointed with flint, and the war-club, 



357 

flint implements of the ruder kinds, the organization into gentes, 
the system of totemism with the consanguine family and the 
mother right prevalent, monosyllabic language, gesture signs, 
picture writing, the worship of the elements in the lowest form, 
fetichism and cannibalism. In the lower period of barbarism 
the cultivation of maize, beans, squash and tobacco, finger weav 
ing with warp and wool, the moccasin, legging and kilt of tanned 
deer skin, use of feathers for ornaments, and the pipe, the village 




Fig. 13. Bird Pipe from Stone Grave. 

stockade for defense, tribal games, worship of animals and the 
elements, organization of confederacies, government by a council 
of chiefs. During the middle period native metals were intro 
duced, such as copper and lead in its native state, native iron or 
brown hematite, and occasionally the beaten silver and gold, 
beaten into thin plates, ornamental pottery, polished flint and 
stone implements, woven fabrics of cotton and other vegetable 
fiber, the embryo loom, the construction of earth-works in the 
shape of fortresses, the erection of pyramids, the worship of the 




Fig. Ik Stone Whistles from Tennessee. 



sun 



introduction of a priesthood, erection of estufas or rotundas 
for religious worship, separation of the caciques and the govern 
mental houses from those of the common people, the introduc 
tion of extensive agriculture in fields rather than in enclosures. 
The upper period, distinguished by commune houses with walls 
of adobe, dressed stone laid in courses, cyclopean walls, lake- 
dwellers constructed on piles, knowledge of native metals, the 
use of charcoal and crucible, bronze relics in Europe, copper 
relics in America, ornamented pottery in colors and with symbols, 
art of weaving advanced to a high state, domestic animals intro 
duced, cultivation by irrigation with reservoirs and irrigating 
canals, the worship of the sky, with personal and animal gods, 



358 

as guardians as parts of the sky, a priesthood distinguished by 
its costume, government by chiefs who were also priests, the 
beginning of hierarchy. 

Here we would call attention again to the Mound-builders. 
We have already divided the Mound-builders territory into 
several districts and have confined the different classes uf Mound- 
builders to certain limited habitats, but we must remember that 
the same kind of works found in these districts extend in limited 
numbers into other districts. Within the districts the relics and 
the earth-works so correspond that we may decide as to the mode 
of life, the grade of culture, means of subsistence, social organi 
zation and religious system which prevailed; but without the 
district they are exceptional and can not be regarded as indices 
of the cultus which prevailed. The presence of these excep- 




Fig. 15.- Clay Pipe from Indiana. 

tional works and their associated relics in the midst of others has 
been supposed by some to prove the migrations of the Mound- 
builders through certain districts before they reached their hab 
itat; but the evidence is unsatisfactory, for the line of migration 
as thus indicated is but a short one and gives us no hint as to 
their original home or starting point. There is always an uncer 
tainty in regard to the direction whether it indicates a line to 
or from the habitat, while the relics of the different districts are 
similar. 

We give a series of cuts here to illustrate the different charac 
ter of the relics in the different districts. It will be noticed that 
the pipes of the Ohio Mound-builders were without any stem; 
bowl and stem were carved out of one piece. See Fig. 12. The 
same kind of pipes are found in Illinois and Iowa. The pipes 
from Indiana, from the stone graves and the southern Mound- 
builders were designed for stems. Some of them had a small 
orifice, and were carved into frogs and ducks. Figs. 7-13. These 
we call calumets, for they remind us of the modern pipes in 
which the natural head of a bird is used, and which has the stem 
trimmed with feathers of various kinds. The so-called Cherokee 
pipe is one which resembles the modern clay pipe, the stem and 



359 

bowl being made of one stone, but both are round and trumpet 
shaped. There are many carved pipes, both at the south and 
at the north, some of which are made of clay and some of stone, 
a specimen of which is given in Fig. 19, from Indiana. Mr. C. C. 
Jones calls these calumets, but they seem to have been used by 
all of the tribes of modern Indians, as well as by the ancient 
Mound-builders, and can hardly be regarded as having such a 
sacred character as, a calumet. 

The copper implements represented in Plate V are from Wis 
consin and Ohio. These show the difference between hunters 
and agriculturists. The Wisconsin relics are knives, spears, and 
arrows; the Ohio relics are chisels, awls, needles, a few spades 
and spears. There are copper relics in Iowa, but they are mainly 




Fig. 16. Chunky Stones. 

axes. In Tennessee copper spools are very numerous. Copper 
relics in Georgia are wrought into winged figures. We see the 
cultus of the different classes of Mound-builders in the copper 
relics. 

The chunky stones represented in Fig. 1 6 are from Ohio. They 
have been described by Squier and Davis. Such stones are very 
numerous in Tennessee and in the Gulf States. The chunky 
stones of Illinois are much smaller and not as deeply dished. 
They may have been used for a different purpose, and so are not 
properly called chunky stones. 

The maces and badges represented in Plate VI are from Ohio 
and Tennessee. Maces like these have been found as far south 
as Florida, as far north as Minnesota, though rarely in the prairie 
regions. They show the cultus of the Mound-builders of all 
regions. Illustrations of .specimens of pottery of St. Francis 
River may be seen in Plate VII. In this we have a figure of a 



360 

serpent, of a fish, a nondescript animal, of the cross, suastika, 
concentric circles. All of the specimens are bottles or water 
carriers. These have been described by Prof. W. B. Potter, and 
are now in the historical rooms of St. Louis. 

Every effort to identify the cultus of any known tribe of 
Indians with that of a distinct district must be taken as largely 
made up of conjecture. We do not consider that there is the 
same uncertainty in reference to the Mound builders cultus, for 
the following reasons: i. Within their habitat the Mound-build 
ers of each class impressed their entire life upon their works, and 
they shew exactly the grade of advancement they reached, the 
mode of life they followed, the type of religion they exercised, 
and the form of government they adopted, at a certain period of 
time, and we may take the picture which is furnished as a tolera 
bly correct one. 2. The association of the relics with the works 
is an additional fact. These relics may be made from materials 
brought from other districts, and so prove an ancient intercourse 
and an ancient aboriginal trade, but when they are found in the 
district they show the cultus which prevailed elsewhere. It is 
worthy of notice, however, that generally the raw material is 
brought from diverse and distant localities, but when it reaches 
the district it receives the stamp of the people of that district 
In this way the flint and the stone and the shell and the copper 
may be mined in other places and traded or carried, but the 
arrows, the spears, the pipes, the copper implements and shell 
ornaments show in their finish and form the very people or dis 
trict to which they belonged. This enables us to identify them 
not only as the handiwork of the ancient inhabitants, but also as 
that of the inhabitants of a particular locality or district. 

Illustrations of these points are very numerous. We have 
only to go over the Mound-builders territory and recognize the 
different earth-works distributed there, and then take the relics 
gathered from each locality and group them properly, remem 
bering the association with the earth -works and their correlation 
to the scenery, and we have a picture of the cultus of each class 
of Mound-builders both definite and reliable. 



INDEX. 



Abbott, Dr. C. C., 2, 3, 61, 290. 

Adair, 146. 

Adams Co., 111., Serpent Effigy in, 123. 

Adams Co., Ohio, Serpent Effigy in, 122. 

Agricultural Tools, 36. 

Agricultural Races, 65, 354. 

Alabama, Mounds in, 170, 178. 

Aleutian Islands, 5. 

Alexandersville, O., 86, 138, 264, 2C5. 

Algonquins, 21, 64, 116. 

Alleghany River, 115. 

Alleghans, Traditions of, 116, 124. 

Alligator Mound, Granville, O., 230. 

Altar Mounds and Ash Heaps, 309-336. 

Altars, 47, 124, 231, 242, 243, 260, 309. 

Ameghino, 7. 

American Antiquarian, 3, 6, 237. 

Anderson, W. H , 72. 

Anderson, Ind., 258. 

Andrews, E. B., 76. 

Animal Effigies, 71, 227, 228. 

Animal Worship, 225-231. 

Animism and Burial Mounds, 223-226. 

Antiquity of Mounds, 31-53, 138. 

Appalachian Mountains, 27, 215. 

Argyleshire, 84. 

Arka sas, Mounds in, 122, 145, 215, 217. 

Arrow-heads, 274. 

Armstrong, R. B., 72. 

Ash-heaps, 205, 309, 325. 

Ashland County, O., Forts in, 193. 

Ashtabula, O., Mounds at, 192. 

Atwater, Caleb, 52, 88, 90, 135, 252. 

Athens, O., Mounds at, 76. 

Auriferous Gravels, 4. 

Avebury, 249. 

Aztecs, 76, 108, 188, 232. 

Aztlan, Wis.,170, 171. 



Babbit, Miss F. E., 2. 
Baldwin, C. C., 9. 
Banner Stones, 37, 290. 
Barber, E. A., 285. 
Barton, Prof., 40. 
Bartram, 146, 259. 
Basques, 2, 109. 
Baum Works, 126. 
Bavaria, Caves in, 8. 
Baxter, J. H., 190. 
Beacon Mounds, 189. 
Beauchamp, Rev. Wm., 137. 194. 
Beehive Tombs, 115, 127, 128. 
Beloit, Wis., Mound at, 71. 
Berthoud, E. L., 13. 



Biukley, S. H., 208, 270. 

Big Harpeth, Tenn., 216, 267. 

Big Twin Works. 207, 270. 

Bird-shaped Amulets, 285, 289. 

Blackmore Museum, 284. 

Blackwater Group, 238. 

Black Hawk, 136. 

Bliss, L. O., 289. 

Blumer, Rev. A., 12, 46. 

Bolivar County, Miss., Pyramids in, 176. 

Bourneville, O., Works at, 115, 155, 192, 210. 

Bowers, Dr. Stephen, 9, 61. 

Boyle on Canadian Relics, 291. 

Brackenridge, J. M., 157, 160. 

Brinton, Dr. D. G., 102, 121. 

British Columbia, Mounds in, 341. 

Bronze Age, 33, 300. 

Brooding Ornaments, 285. 

Brown, Rev. E. D., 10. 

Brush Creek, 85, 139. 

Buffalo Bones, 50. 

Buffalo and Indians, The, 49-55. 

Burial Mounds, 59-74, Map. 

Burial Rites, 52, 76, 324. 

Burmeister, 8. 



Caesar s Forts, 186. 

Caches, 103, 826. 

Cahokia Mound, 157, 172, 178. 

Calaveras Skull, 5, 8. 

California Relics, 11, 34, 105. 

Cambridge, O., Mounds in, 86. 

Canadian Relics, 290. 

Cane Mats, 347. 

Captives, 255. 

Carlisle Fort, 209. 

Carr, Lucien, 126. 

Cartier, Jacques, 19, 280. 

Cass County, 111., Mounds in, 233, 242. 

Catawba Indians, 128, Map. 

Cave dwellers, 8, 10. 

Catlin, J. C.,121. 

Catlinite Pipes, 30, 329, 330. 

Cedar Banks, Works at, 89, 268, 269. 

Celts, 77. 

Chambered Mounds, 75, 223-226. 

Champlain Epoch, 32. 

Charlestown, Ind., 86. 

Chattahoochie River, Mounds on, 178. 

Chattanooga, 179. 

Charlevoix, 50. 

Chellean Epoch, 32. 

Cherokees, 97, 110, 116, 118, 120, 125, 131, 235. 

Chinese Portraits, 276. 






Chlllicotbe, Ohio, Works at. 85. 156. 191. 

Chisels, 77,867. 

Chocta ws, 29, Map. 

Chunky Stones, 39. 

Chunky Yards, 14ft. 

Cincinnati, Ohio, Works at, 85, 117. 

-s and Mounds, 80, 138, 149, 188, 252, 255. 

Circleville, Ohio, Works at, 96, 299. 

Circle and Crescent, 211, 239, 289. 

Cisco, J. G., 1W. 

dsts, Stone, 77, 112. 

Civilization, 337, 368. 

Clan Emblems, _- 

Clans among the Mound-builders, 141, 144, 
tft, 

Clark County, Indiana. 212. 

Clarke, Robert, 

Clark, Gen. G. R., 185. 

Clark s Works, 88 95. 196, 197. 

Clay Pipes, 358. 

-.and, Ohio, 192. 

Cliff-dwellers, 34, 36, 144. 

in Mounds, 52, 69, 347, 234. 

Coleraine Works. 95, 198. 

Collet, Dr. John, 41. 

Colorado, 341. 

Conant, A. C.. 167. 

Concentric Circles, 135, 256. 

Constructed Circles, 2S7. 

Cook Farm, Mound* on, 233. 

Copper Relics Awls, 67, 234: Axes, 40, 43, 
4ft. 52, 69; Beads, 234, 267; Bell, 333; 
Chisels, 234; Crescents, 247; Crosses, 
266, 332; Disks, 248; Mats, 52; Mines, 
35, 349; Plates, 51, 52, 349; Rings, 312 
332; Spools. 234. 2, 239, 261, 266. 

Coves and Altars, 251. 

Covered Ways, 93. 

Coxe, E.T.,348. 

Crania of Mound-builders, 230, 361. 

Crawford County, Wisconsin, 225. 
s Indians. 131. M p. 

Cremation in Mounds, 260. 

Cremation Places, 260. 

Crescent Earth-worts, 228, 256. 

Crescent Pavements, 282, 269. 

Cultus of the Mound-builders, 133-148. 

Cup Marks, 295. 

Cuyaboga, 191. 



Dakota, Mounds in, 24, 62. 67, 114, 142. 

Dakota*, The, 29, 64, 85, 113, 118, 120, 139, 142, 

Dall, W. H., 11. 

Date of Mound-builders, 31-50. 

Davenport Academy, 12, 41, 45, 58, 68. 

Davenport Mounds, 43 07. 

Davenport Pipes, 41, 288. 

Davenport Tablets, 43, 48. 

Davis, Dr. J. E., 125. 

Daw son. Sir William, : 

Dayton, Ohio, Works at, 138, H8. 

Deans, James, 61. 



DeBry. 165. 
Defensive Walls, 92. 
Defensive Works, 185, 220. 



Denmark, Mounds in, 60. 

DesMoine- 136. 

DeSoto, -JO, 101. 

Detroit, Michigan, Mound? 

Different Races, 52, 65, Map. 

Digging Implements, 332, 354. 

Dille, J 

Districts, Different, 62. Map 

f Territory. 15, 23, 62, Map. 
Domestic Pottery 107,339,348. 
Dordogne Oaves, 14. 
Dorsey, Rev. J. O., 121. 
Double Mounds, 43. 
Douglas, A. E., 38. 
Druids, 247, 249, 268, 288, 300. 
Duck Pipes, 856. 
Danlap s Works, 89, 140. 



Eagles, Copper, 52. 

East Tennessee. Works in, 118. 

East St, Louis, Works at, 166. 

East Dubuque, Works at, 22 . 

Effigy Mounds, 71. 227, 250. 

Egypt, Relics in, 1. 

Elephant Pipes, 13, 41. 

Eleuslnian Mysteries, 248. 

Elks, 227. 

E! yria, Ohio, Caves at, 9. 

Enclosures in Ohio, 18, 26, 51-56. 

Eskimos, 5. 

Ethnological Bureau, 187. 
Ktowah Mound. 164, 179. 
Etowah, Georgia, Works at, 179. 
Europe, Mounds in, 16, 60. 
European Faces and Pipes - 
Evansville, Indiana, Works at, 170. 
Exeter Vase, 142. 
Excelsior, Minnesota, Mounds at, 06. 



Falling Gardens, 166-167. 

Farm ers vi He Fort, 209. 

Featherstoneaugh, 168. 

Female Heads, 108. 

Fire Beds, 88, 115, 287, 802, 312, 313, 

Fire Worship, 172, 231-237. 

Flat Pipes, 283-284. 

Flint, Dr. Earl, 6. 

Flint Disks, 316. 

Flint Daggers, 104, 353. 

Flint Ridge, 36, 97. 

Flint Hoes, 354. 

Florida, Relics in. 38. 

Florida, Works in, 35, Map. 

Fontaine, Dr. E., 13, 178. 

Fonl. 178. 

Fort Ancient, 203, 241. 



INDEX.I 



367 



Fort Hill, 201, 266. 

Fort in Clark County, Indiana, 212. 

Forts near Nashville, Tennessee. 

Forts on Miami River, 196. 

Forts on the Scioto River, 210. 

Fortified Hill, 206. 

Fortified Villages, 148, 194. 

Foster, Dr. J. W., 13. 

Foxes, The, 237. 

Fox River, Mounds on, 2:>. 

French Portrait, 276. 

French Classification, 31. 

Frog Pipes, 353. 



Galena, Illinois, Mounds at, 65. 

Game Drives, 138. 

Garci lasso de la Vega, 180, 345. 

Garden Beds, 35. 

Gasconade County, Missouri, 11, 39. 

Gateways, 151, 199, 204, 212. 

Geographical Divisions, 23, 62, Map. 

Geography of Religion, 222. 

Geological Period, 33. 

Georgia, Mounds in, 35, 180. 

Gilman, Henry, 74. 

Glacial Periods, 4. 

Gold Ornament, 38. 

Gorgets, Shell, 128, 264, 305. 

Graded Ways, 153, 175. 

Grades of Culture, 136, 353-356. 

Granville, Ohio, Mounds at, 155, 195, 230. 

Grave Creek Mound, 76, 114. 

Graves of Indians, 324, 335. 

Great Miami River, 189, 196. 

Grotesque Portraits, 277. 



Habitation Mounds, 214, 264. 

Haldeman, S. S., 8. 

Halbert, H. S., 2o9. 

Hale, Dr. Horatio, 121. 

Hamilton County, Ohio, 197. 

Hardinsburg Fort, Ohio, 116. 

Harris, Rev. Dr., 91. 

Hearths, 209. 

Heg, J. G. Col., 72. 

Henshaw, H. W., 47, 61. 

Hieroglyphics, 44. 

High Bank, 87, 149. 

Highland County, Ohio, 190. 

Hill Forts, 20(3-211. 

Hilgard, E. W., 13. 

Hill, H. H., Dr., 295. 

Hill Mounds, 188. 

Historic and Prehistoric Relics, 273-292. 

Hochelaga, 138, 146. 

Hocking Creek, 85. 

Hoes and Spades, 35, 275, 355. 

Hoflman, W. J., 187. 

Holden, J. B., 40. 

Holmes, Dr., 13. 

Holmes, W. H., 187. 



Homer, 59. 

Hopeton, Ohio, :,1, 8!), 149, 255, 26<i. 

Horn Handles, 104. 

Horse-shoe Symbol, 207, 249, 303. 

Hoy, Dr. J. E., 72. 

Hubbard, Hon. Bela, 74. 

Hudson, Dr., 62. 

Human Sacrifice, 298. 

Hunter Tribes, 63-64, 225. 

Hurons, 279. 



Ice Sheet and Paleolithic Man, 5. 

Idaho, Relics from, 6, 36. 

Illinois, Mounds in, 17, 24, 53, 56-57, 63, 67, 

69, 122, 130, 158, 224, 236, 242, 302, 306. 
Illinois River, Mounds on, 52, 56-57, 242. 
Images, Pottery, 108. 
Images, Stone, 100, 105. 
Implements of Bone, 326. 
Indiana, Mounds in, 24, 41, 63, 86, 212, 235, 

257,261, 264. 

Indian and Mound-builder s Relics, 272-292. 
Indian Burials, 313. 
Indian Hunters, 100. 
Indian Migrations, 113-132, 337, Map. 
Indian Portraits, 103. 
Indian Relics, 272, 275, 280. 
Indians and Mound builders, 50-58. 
Indian Traditions, 120, 125, 130, 137, 140, 142, 

144, 165, 229, 232, 237, 247, 281, 345. 
Indian Villages, 55, 135, 141. 
Inscribed Tablets, 48. 
Intruded Burials, 124. 

Iowa, Mounds in, 24, 53, 63, 67, 130, 224, 235-6. 
lowas, 129, Map. 
Iroquois, 26, 119, 129, 226, 279, 282. 
Iron in Mounds, 318. 



Jade, 36. 

Johnson, H. L., 108. 
Jones, C. C., Hon., 30, 190. 
Jones, Dr. Joseph, 216. 



Kaskaskia, 101, 165. 

Kenawha Valley, 27, 115, 131, 258. 

Kentucky, 58, 41. 

Keokuk, 136. 

Kickapoos, Map. 4 

Kinney, T. W., 250. 

Kitchen Middens, 8, 327. 

Knife Handles, 318. 

Knives, 104. 

Koch, Dr., 39. 

Kolee Mokee, 183. 

Koshkonong, 71. 

Kunz, G. F., 38. 



Lake-dwellings, 34. 
Lake Michigan, 23. 



3(18 



INDEX. 



Lake Regions, 16, Map. 
Lapham, Dr. J. A., 189. 
La Salle, 56 

Leaf-shaped Implements, 242. 
Lena River, 14. 
Leni Lenape, 121. 
Lewis, T. H., 10. 
Limestone Pipe, 328-330, 332. 
Limestone Tablet, 331. 
Lockwood, Prof. Samuel, 40. 
Lodge Circles, 145, 216. 
Lookout Mounds, 187-192. 
Louisa County, Iowa, 12. 
Louisiana, Pyramids in, 175, 178. 
Lower Canada, 278. 
Lower Mississippi, 174. 
Lund, Prof., 8. 
Lyons, Sidney, 58. 

Maces, 287. 

Macon, Georgia, 182. 

Madisonville, Ohio, 321. 

Mahadeo, 293. 

Malayp, 116. 

Mallorx, Col. G., 187. 

Manchester, Tennessee, 220. 

Mandan Villages, 216. 

Manitou, 165. 

Marietta, Ohio, 83, 89, 91, 152. 

Marine Shells, 266. 

Marquette, 168. 

Masks, 228. 

Mason, O. T., 211. 

Massie s Creek, 211, 241. 

Mastodon, 12-13, 32, 39, 41. 

Mattiog, 12. 

Me Adams, William, 162. 

Messier Mound, 182. 

Metz, C. L., 324. 

Mexican Semblances, 180, 

Mexico, 34, 36. 

Miami River, 116, 156, 256, 265. 

Miamisburg, Ohio, 86, 191. 

Mica Crescents, 262, 298. 

Mica Mines, 35. 

Michigan, Mines in, 350. 

Micos Cabin, 145. 

Middle District, 114-132. 

Middle Tennessee, 104. 

Military Works, 25. 

Miners Tools, 350. 

Mines, 350. 

M i sissippi Pottery, 347. 

Mississippi, Pyramids In, 172-177. 

Mississippi River, 42, 157. 

Mississippi Valley, 62. 

Missouri, Mastodon in, :; .. 

Missouri Pottery, 106. 

Missouri River, Mounds on, 114. 

Mitchell Station, 57. 

Moquis,236. 

Moline, Illinois, 52, 69, 233. 

Monk s Mound, l(j( >. 

Moon Cult, 237-244. 



Morgan, L. H., 143, 353. 

Moorehead, W. K., 50, 203, 242. 

Mormon s Work, 48. 

Mortar, 5. 

Mound-builders Age, 15, 31, Cult, 133-148; 
Forts, 198, 212; Houses, 147; Idols, 207; 
Images, 108; Implements, 135; Migra 
tions, 113-128; Mines, 350; Pipes, 278, 
291, 330, 353-358; Pottery, 102-112, 279, 
326, 334, 340, 346; Races, 20, 309-360; Rel 
ics, 21, 65, 266, 271-292; Religion, 221- 
244; Skulls, 225; Tablets, 42-46, 48, 303, 
822; Writing, 44. 

Mound City, 243, 262, 298,309. 

Mounds in Alabama, 170; Arkansas, 122, 
145, 215, 217; Dakota, 24, 42, 62, 67, 114; 
Florida, 35, 38; Georgia, 28, 55, 77, 179, 
180, 183, 352; Illinois, 17, 24, 52-53, 56-57, 
63, 67-69, 122-123, 130, 158, 224, 236, 242, 
296, 302, 304, 306; Indiana, 24, 41, 49, 63, 
86, 212, 235, 257, 261, 264; Iowa, 24, 42, 47, 
53, 63, 67, 130, 233-234; Kentucky, 58, 
138; Louisiana, 173-174; Michigan, 25, 
74; Minnesota, 24, 63, 67; Mississippi, 
170, 173, 176-177, 346; Missouri, 25, 39, 75, 
164; New York, 25, 194; North Caro 
lina, 27; Ohio, 26, 51, 54, 83-96, 115, 122, 
133-138, 153-156, 188-192, 230, 238-240, 249- 
256, 264-265, 309-336; Tennessee, 28, 97- 
112, 118, 128, 141,216,356; West Vi.ginia 
25, 114, 124, 259; Wisconsin, 23, 42, 49, 
71, 130, 171, 225. 

Mounds, Altar, 47, 124, 231, 242, 260, 297, 309- 
324. 

Mounds, Beacon, 191. 

Mounds, Burial, 23, 27, 42, 58, Map. 

Mounds, Chambered, 110, 124, 223. 

Mounds. Cremation, 299. 

Mounds, Conical, 265. 

Mounds, Domiciliary, 343. 

Mounds, Effigy, 23, 69, 227, 250. 

Mounds, Fire, 111, 192, 233. 

Mounds, Great, 117, 164, 177, 264, 348. 

Mounds, High, 117, 164, 177. 

Mounds, Hill, 119, 188. 

Mounds, Lookout, 64. 

Mounds, Maps of, 17 18, 22, 47, 58, 69, 94, 115, 
174, 189, 263. 

Mounds, Northern, 341. 

Mounds, Observatory, 152. 

Mounds, Oblong, 243. 

Mounds, Platform, 27, 83, 150. 

Mounds, Pyramid, 29, 157-184. 

Mounds, Sacrificial, 93, 256. 

Mounds, Serpeut, 122, 296. 

Mo mds, Signal, 189. 

Mounds, Stratified, 53, 56, 225, 235, 244, 313. 

Mounds, Symbolic-, 252, -Jti!. 

Mounds, Terraced, 160, 17::, 2, 59. 

Mounds, Truncated, 2t;5 

Muscatine Slough, 17, 68, 233. 

Muscogees, 100, Map. 

Mu*kingum,85. 115, 256 



INDEX. 



Name, Mound-builder, 16. 

Naming Periods, 33. 

Nampa Image, 6. 

Nashville, Tenn., 101-105, 122. 

Natchez, 29, 100, 118. 

Nature Worship, 221-233. 

Neanderthal Skull, 5. 

Neolithic Age, 31. 

Neolithic Caves. 7-9. 

Newark, O. 86, 152, 263. 

Newbuig, O., 193. 

Newburg Mastodon, 39. 

New Madrid, 106. 

New York Pipes, 277, 283. 

Nicaragua Footprints, 6. 

North Carolina, Mounds in, 27, 115, 128. 

Northern Georgia, 28, 129. 

Number of Mounds, 20. 



Oakland, California, 61. 

Observatory Mound, 163. 

Obsidian, 33, 261. 

Ocmulgee River, 173-182. 

Ohio, Defences in, 198-204. 

Ohio, Mounds in, 84, 92, 119, 122, 126, 137, 138, 

152, 188, 192, 206, 288. 
Ohio, Relics in, 34, 233, 242,261, 268, 278, 282, 

291, 315-321. 

Ohio River, Mounds in, 113-120. 
Ohio Villages, 150-156. 
Oregon Relics, 105. 
Osages, 228, Map. 
Otter Pipe, 356. 



Packard, A. S., 293. 

Pa nesville, O., 74. 

Paint Creek, O., 85, 87, 115, 197, 256, 298. 

Paleolithic Age, 31, 32. 

Paleolithic Relics, 8, 12. 

Panther Pipe, 110. 

Parallel Walls, 151. 

Patrick, Dr. J. R., 163. 

Paved Altars, 315. 

Pavements, 204, 209, 262, 257. 

Pearls, 318, 322. 

Peru, 338. 

Pestles, 5. 

Phallic Worship, 300. 

Phene, Dr. J. W., 190. 

Piassa, 165. 

Pigmies, 97. 

Piketon, 154. 

Pipe Stone Quarry, 35. 

Platform Mounds, 263. 

Pomeiock, 145. 

Portrait Pipes, 283. 

Portraits, 106. 

Portsmouth, O., 88. 85, 94, 248, 2-55. 

Pottery, 102-112, 279. 

Pottery Heads, 109. 

Pottery in Ash Pits, 325. 



Pottery in Vessels, 326, 339, 344, 346. 

Powell, Maj. J. W., 5. 

Prairie du Chien, 73 

Prairie, Jefferson, 174. 

Pra rie Mounds, 63, Map. 

Pro to-historic, 271, 281. 

Proudfit, Dr.J.V.,190. 

Pueblos, 106, 354. 

Pulleys, 354. 

Putnam, Prof. F. W., 165, 235 

Pyramid Builders, 114, 132, 157-184, 307. 

Pyramid Mounds, 157-184, Map. 



Quincy, 111., 67, 123, 296, 304. 



Races Among Mound-builders, 20. 

Racine, Wis., 73. 

Rau, Dr. Charles, 9. 

Reed, M. C., 10. 

Red River, 63. 

Red Wing, Minn., 67. 

Religious Works, 221-237. 

Relics, 21, 266, 271-292. 

River, Rouge,74. 

Rock Island, 67. 

Rotundas, 145, 161, 255. 



Sacred Enclosures, 81-96, 252, Map. 

Sacrificial Mounds, 93, 314. 

Sacs and Foxes, 237. 

Saddle-shaped Stone, 286. 

Salamander Vessel, 326. 

Salt Springs, 348. 

Sand Stone Pipe, 328. 

Savannah, Tenn., 170, 343. 

Seal Township, 89, 239. 

Scepters, 105. 

Schoolcraft, H. R., 119. 

Scioto River, 87, 115, 119. 

Scioto Valley, Map of, 18. 

Scrolls and Spear-heads, 322. 

Sea Shells, 75. 

Seltzer, Township, Miss., 177. 

Serpe .t Effigy, 296. 

Serpent Mounds, 122, 123. 

Serpent Pipe, 302, 332. 

Serpent Symbol, 265, 304, 322. 

Serpent Worship, 95. 

Shaler, Prof. E- M., 41. 

Shawnees, 100, 119, Map. 

Shell Beads, 33, 235, 243. 

Shelled Corn, 325. 

Shell Gorgets, 128, 132, 305. 

Shell Heaps, 10, 38,67. 

Shell Ornaments, 301. 

Shelter Cave, 9. 

Short, Prof. J. T., 171. 

Shoulder Bone Creek, 180. 

Sickles, 36. 

Signal System, 188. 



370 



INDEX. 



Silver in Mounds, 36, 56, 319. 

Silver Ornaments, 38. 

Silvery Mica, 127, 244, 262, 314. 

Snakes, 297. 

Snyder, Dr., 242. 

Solar Cult, 245-247. 

South Carolina, 131. 

Southern Indians. 145, 345. 

Spool Ornaments, 266. 

Squier & Davis, 87, 88, 125, 131, 235. 

St. Acheul, 2." 

Standing Stone, 59. 

St. Louis, 157. 

Stockades, 193-195. 

Stockade Villages, 38, 142, 192. 

Stone Forts, 141, 147, 211, 342 

Stone Grave People, 97-112. 

Stone Mounds, 212, 214, 312. 

Stone Vaults, 76. 

Sugar Loaf, 160. 

Sun Circles, 251-259. 

Sun Symbols, 252, 260. 

Sun Worship, 85, 125, 164, 251, 259, 267. 

Swamp Villages, 145. 

Swastika, 51, 54, 301. 

Swords of Stone, 105 

Symbolism in Mounds, 293-308. 

Symbolism, 82, 293. 



Tablets, 42-46, 48, 303, 322. 

Tennessee. Mounds in, 97, 102, 112, 128, 141, 

170, 267, 301, 342. 

Terraced Mounds, 74, 146, 158, 166, 170, 252. 
Terraces, Mounds on, 19, 53. 
Thomas, Dr. Cyrus, 73, 116. 
Thruston, Gen. G. P., 99, 190, 267, 296. 



Toad Pipe, 321. 

Toolsboro, 234. 

Toltec Gates. 147. 

Toronto Relics, 291. 

Totems, 22, 72, 225, 227, 229, 230, 250. 

Traditions of Indians, 120, 130, 137, 142, 

165, 168, 229, 237, 281. 
Trumpet Pipe, 281. 
Tube Pipes, 282. 
Tur er Group, 318. 
Turtle Pipe, 284. 



Upper Mississippi, 63. 

Urns, 65. 

Utes. 



Vases, 107, 324, 326, 334, 340. 

Vaults, 76, 126. 

Villages of Indians, 136, 145, 187, 194, 215. 

Villages of Mound-builders, 126, 156, 173- 

194. 
Vincennes. Ind., 117, 190, 264. 



Wateree River, Mounds on, see Map. 

Workshops, 35. 

Worthington, O., Works at, 265. 

Woven Cloth, 319. 

Wyalusing, 42. 

Wyandottes, 26, 129. 



Yucatan, 16. 
Zuni Indians, 271. 



ERRATA. 



Page 4, line 44, for figure 3 read figure 4. 

Page 8, line 5, for Contemporanity read Contemporaneity. 

Page ii, line 39, for Brinton read Benton. 

Page 37, line 32, for Stoue read Stone. 

Page 38, lines 20 and 40, for Silver read Gold. 

Page 44, line I, for Pipes read Axes. 

Page 60, line 6, for Orkey read Orkney. 

Page 81, line 2, for Serprent read Serpent. 

Page 91, line 18, for It read Them. 

Page 168, line 10, for Sprerd read Spread. 

Page 172, line 14, for Serpeut read Serpent. 

Page 211, line 12, for No. read Fig. 

Page 229, line 4, for Pleides read Plerades. 

Page 293, line 16, for Pakacrd read Packard. 

Page 294, line 20, for Mahedeo read Mahadeo. 

Page 298, line 23, for Mahedeo read Mahadeo. 

Page 352, line 27, for Pattnrns read Patterns. 

Page 359, line 4, for nineteen read fifteen. 



APPENDIX. 



PALEOLITHICS AND DOUBTFUL FINDS. 

The finds of paleolithic relics in the gravel beds in Delaware, Ohio and 
Minnesota we have spoken of (see Chap. I, p. 3) as in accord with those 
common in Europe, though they do not carry the age of man, by any 
means, as far back, for they are all post-glacial. The Calaveras skull, the 
Nampa image, we have always questioned as being inconsistent with the 
science. We are gratified to know that other gentlemen, among them sev 
eral connected with the government surveys, have candidly advanced other 
corrections. The paleolithics of Delaware were from the talus and not 
from the undisturbed gravel. Those in Minnesota were still more recent. 
The Nampa Image was a clay toy made by the Pocatello Indians. The 
Calaveras skull and steatite vessels were ;ieft in an old shaft by aborigines 
who were miners, before the time of Columbus. We are thankful to Prof. 
Wright for having given us the information, but still more thankful to the 
Washington parties for making these corrections. We would, however, 
respectfully ask both parties whether this involves an abandonment of 
the paleolithic age. That age in Europe is made up of three different 
epochs, the last epoch post-glacial. Why not, then, class the paleolithc 
with the post-glacial and acknowledge it as introductory to the neolithic 
in both countries. Mr, W. H. Holmes maintains that the paleolithic relics 
were aboriginal failures and quite modern, but the finding of so many of 
them in the gravels would indicate that they belonged to an age preceding 
that of the Mound-builders, and so we retain the term paleolithic age. 



RACES AMONG THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

The latest book on the subject is one by Mr. Warren K. Moorehead. He 
prepared this book in the field, he says, using some of the material which 
he had gathered from the mounds in Southern Ohio for a basis, but 
embodying chapters written by W. K. Davis, Mr. Gerard Fowke and Dr. H. 
T. Cresson; the purpose of which is "to do away with certain illusions" in 
reference to the high grade of civilization of the Mound-builders. He 
claims that books written by certain "field-writers" have a value far in ex 
cess of previous publications. The impression made by the book is so dif 
ferent from that made by other explorers, some of whom were in the field 
early and some of them quite recently, that we have concluded to cite the 
opinions of others; mainly gentlemen of mature judgment and established 
reputation. 

Mr. Moorehead draws the same conclusion that his chief, Prof. Putnam, 
had reached about the "two races," but he goes much further, and claims 
that neither race was raised above the upper condition of "savagery," and 
the title of "primitive man"- applies to both. The "long heads" waged 
battle with the "short heads" for many years, keeping up "towns" as head- 



374 APPENDIX. 

quarters to which they might return. A few villages of the "long heads" 
have been found in the Miami and Scioto Valleys. He thinks that no 
"short heads" entered their territory in Clinton and Clermont Counties, 
though Fort Ancient is not very far from either county, where there are 
many stone graves, which he ascribes t:> the "short headed" race. The 
greatest village site was just below the walls of Fort Ancient and occupied 
the broad bottoms of the Little Miami. Jn one place he found three village 
sites, one above the other. The lower burial site presented a singular ap 
pearance. Sixteen graves were opened in the presence of 1100 people. The 
two villages were in existence before the advent of the French traders. 
Upon Cresar s Creek was found a village occupying sixty or seventy acres of 
ground. Three hundred graves have been opened near the South Fort, at 
Fort Ancient. In Oregonia, in Warren County, he opened a large cemetery 
in a village site, of more recent date than those at Fort Ancient, but the con 
dition of the graves, together with the size of the trees towering above 
them, confirmed the assertion of the age of the burials. They were proba 
bly the people who erected the walls of Fort Ancient. The most remarkable 
find was in a Hopewell mound. Here there were two races, the "long head" 
and "short head," though he fails to state which was the earlier. 

Prof Putnam speaks of the serpent mound in Adams county, Ohio. He 
says everything connected with it points to great antiquity. The signs of 
late occupation > ave nothing remarkable, eimpleash beds, where the dwell 
ing stood, no elaborate structures and no special ceremonies. A single per 
son buried with great ceremony in connection with fire. A village site and 
burial place occupy the same area. Of the two periods our explorations 
show the serpent mound was built by the first. Prof. Putnam used the 
word "Indian" when he described the bodies found in the upper burials, and 
the term "Mound-builders" when speaking of the ancient burial?. 



SKULLS OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 

The thought gives rise to the question, what were the characteristics of the 
Mound-builder s skull 1 Nadaillac says that we a^e able to establish certain 
"general characteristics of the Mound-builders; such as the small height and 
capacity of the skull, the obliquity of the zygomatic arch, the flattening of 
the tibia and the perforation of the humerus. These characteristics are 
met with in most skeletons of the so-called Mound-builders, and they may 
help ua to distinguish their bones from those of more modern Indians," 
These are peculiarities recognized only in the northern mounds, espe 
cially those of Michigan and Wisconsin and Ohio. They are character 
istic of the hunter class. They show that these northern Mound-builders 
were more like the modern hunter Indians than were the southern Mound- 
builders. Mr. Henry T. Gilman endeavored to show that flattening the shin 
bone, perforation of the humerus, were signs of a very low order of a man. 
They were Simian traits. But Sir William Dawson has shown that the 
common Indian skull is equally low in its grade, the facial angle being 
scarcely any higher than that found in the Neanderthal skull. These facts 
show that craniology is very unreliable in the matter of determining the 
actual mental capacity of the races. For certainly the Indians are regarded 



APPENDIX. 375 

as much superior to the Neanderthal man or any of the troglodytes of Europe. 
All of these northern skulls difler, however, from the Scioto skull, which 
Squier and Davis advanced as representing the Mound-builders. This skull 
was discovered under a mound near Chillicothe, and was remarkable for its 
vertical and transverse development and for the truncated or flattened form 
of the hinder portion. It was long looked upon as the most complete type 
of the mound-crania. According to Dr. Wilson, the forehead was wide 
and lofty, but the flattening of the occiput was artificial. This type of a 
skull has been found not only in Ohio, but in Illinois, Wisconsin and Ten 
nessee. Gen. Gates P. Thruston has described the skulls of the stone grave 
people. He says a greater number has been taken from stone graves than 
from any other section. J he typical short skull with flattened occiput is 
very common, though by no means characteristic of the entire series found 
in the stone graves. He says that this is also a marked characteristic of 
the skulls found among the remains of the Clifl-dwellers. "The Mound- 
builders, the stone grave builders and the ancient people of the southwest 
were evidently closely related, or were originally of the s^me general stock." 
Mr. C. C. Jones, Jr., has figured two skulls, one that of a modern Indian 
buried near the surface, accompanied with Venetian beads and copper hawk 
bells, the other the cranium of a primitive Mound-builder, which came 
from the bottom of a mound and was vastly older ; it had been artificially 
distorted, th front portion had been flattened. The flattening of the 
forehead was characteristic of the Aztec as well as of the southern In 
dians. Dr. J. Q Farquharson has also described the skulls taken from the 
mounds near Davenport, and has given a table of measurements. His dia 
grams show the boat shape, though many perforated skulls were found here 
as well as at Detroit. 

Here, then, we have many specific types of skulls; the long skull, the 
short skull, the straight skull, the boat-shaped skull, the perforated skull, 
the skull flattened behind and the skull flattened before. To these might 
be added the skulls which have been described by Mr. William P. Clark as 
occasionally found in Wisconsin, and by Prof. M. C. Read as found in Ten 
nessee. These skulls differ from all the others in that the shape is much 
rou ider, the bones thicker, the jaws much more projecting, and the parts 
indicate a much lower order of being. Some have conjectured that "these 
belonged to a very ancient race, possibly the descendants of the old paleo 
lithic race," the fragments of which were afterwards scattered through 
various parts of the Mound-builders territory. 

Now, what ia the lesson which we learn from the study of the skulls 
taken from the mounds in so many different localities ? We have thrown 
out the conjecture that there were several different tribes or stocks of Mound- 
builders, those at the south akin to the people of the southwest; those at the 
north akin to the wild tribes which are supposed to have come from the 
northwest, and those in the middle district, having a diversity of origin ; 
but that the ancient Mound-builders belonged to a different race from the 
hunter Indians. 

This conjecture seems to be confirmed by the description of skulls which 
have been thus far brought out. Still we remember that Dr D. G. Brinton 
has recently advanced the theory which Dr. S. G. Morton formerly did 
namely, that there wa&Jtmt on,e race and that should be called the American 



ir.R HIT S 



876 APPKNDIX. 

Race, and that this opinion has been reached by the study of langua. 
Or. Mr.rton s was from the study of the skulls. This theory we do not under 
take to reconcile with our own conjecture of a diversity of races, but would 
only say that in the present stage of science we consider it unwise to base 
any conclusion upon the examination of the crania. 

The long-headed skull is oval, a narrow bulging occiput, the forehead 
high and narrow, with marked superciliary ridges. The short head has a 
tlattened occiput, the frontal bones retract, the face is short, the superciliary 
ridges are heavy, brows are straight, orbits open and square, jaws are prog- 
nathic. In the cemetery at Madisonville, Ohio, 1,200 out of 1,400 were 
brachycephalic. E. G.Squiers describes the typical Mound-builder s skull as 
having two distinctive peculiarities. One of these is what is called the 
"Inca" bone; the second is, they are so short and high, or "orthocephalic." 

It was long ago found out that in the short heads of the Peruvians a su 
ture across the upper portion of the occiput left a triangular bone between 
the parietals, to which the name "Inca" is given. A large number of skulls 
in the Peabody Museum show that this is common in the "short skulls" of 
Ohio and Peru. 



THE QUARRIES OF FLINT RIDGE. 

Mr. Gerard Fowke speaks of the extensive quarries on Flint Uidge. 
The entire deposit is eight miles long and five miles wide. "Such an exam 
ination as could be made in a day s visit, would impress the observer that 
he was viewing the scene of operations, by comparison of which the con 
struction of Ohio s most extensive earth works would be mere holiday 
sport. Thousands of cubic yards have been removed ; acre after acre have 
been thoroughly excavated. Hundreds of wagon loads of spalls cover the 
ground ; the stone is extremely hard ; persons may have to work an entire 
day with the best steel drills to make a hole large enough for a blast. A 
vast amount of toil was involved in these excavations." The method of 
working these quarries is described. They were worked by fire and by 
cold water. The water shattered and cracked the flint ; large boulders of 
quartz or granite, weighing from twenty to one hundred and fifty pounds, 
have been found in the bottom of the pits, which were used as hammers to 
break otr the limestone. Small hammers were used to block out the flint 
pieces. Many of these finishing shops are located near the quarries- 
Deposits of these leaf-shaped blocks were afterward made, these deposits 
were covered with soil so that the flint might be kept from hardening and 
be more easily worked. The deposit in the mound at Clark s Fort con 
tained 7,500 specimens; these with the i;ni) Squier and Davis took out, would 
make over 8,000 specimens. 

There are various other flint quarries in the State in Coshocton County 
and Perry County and elsewhere. In fact there is scarcely a county along 
the line of this geological formation from Western Pennsylvania to Central 
Kentucky where these flint quarries do not occur. The quarry at Flint 
Ridge covered thirty square miles and was five feet thick. The people using 
the flint extended through New York, West Virginia, Kentucky, Iowa, Wis 
consin and all the northern part of the Mississippi Valley. 



642-3403 




tfEC. Ci 





YC 2-7755